Before the Vision
by Iris Sweetheart
Summary: Before his Crimson Vision, before his dissent into madness… there was just Shadow. Loved by few, hated by many… This is his story of how he became the outsider.
1. A Shadow is Born

All Sega characters are © to Sega.

Before the Vision  
By: Iris Sweetheart

Chapter 1: A Shadow is Born  
Deep inside the underground compound was a cold metal room full of computers, scientific materials, and a large capsule in the middle of the room. A small group of scientists were busily at work talking amongst themselves of the project they were working on.

"It's grown quickly over the past few months Professor Gerald." A young scientist said to an older one. "Do you think it's ready to be awakened?"

The old professor with a bald head and a large gray mustache silently approached the capsule. He placed a hand on the glass and breathed out heavily.

"No it's not ready yet." Professor Gerald said turning around. "It still needs more time to develop."

The younger scientist nodded his head and walked away. Gerald turned back towards the capsule and looked at the curled up figure floating inside. It was a small hedgehog with his spikes under developed. It floated silently in the yellow liquid making small movements every now and then. There were wires attached to the small hedgehog all over his body to monitor his growth and other body functions. Prof. Gerald thought back to when he first began on this project. It was only a few years ago. He remembered the colleagues he had started working with when the idea came into his head.

"I have an idea…an idea to create a living, breathing creature that's intelligent and ageless."

Those were the words Gerald remembered that started this whole project. After countless numbers of tests that failed, one after another, he finally did it. He was able to create his living creature that he dreamt of so much. But there was just one factor he did not count on. The creature had an enormous amount of energy that was not in the original plans. Gerald's colleagues wanted him to start over but the old man refused to. He was growing weary every day and wanted to live to see his project come to life.

"To turn back now would be useless. I'm old and I don't have much time left before I go."

Despite the energy problem, Gerald was determined to get around it if it created any problems. To see his creation walk and talk was one of his last dreams that he held onto and would not let go of no matter what. So his colleagues toiled day and night on a solution while he and Maria were away on a break. They were able to create a smaller version of the creature, a hedgehog, where the energy did not roam freely throughout his body. Gerald remembered upon his return how pleased he was with the outcome. He also remembered his granddaughter saying how cute the hedgehog looked. The project was a success and it was almost ready to be awakened.

Just then the entrance to the lab opened up and a young teenage girl walked in. Her blonde hair was at shoulder length and she had soft blue eyes. The girl wore a sea green dress and matching shoes and waved at a few scientists as she walked in. She approached Gerald and tapped him lightly on the shoulder. The old man turned around and smiled.

"Ah Maria." Gerald said happily. "What brings you down here at this late hour?"

"I was just curious to see if your project was finished grandfather." Maria said looking at the capsule.

"It needs more time to develop my dear, but it is coming along nicely."

Maria gazed at the hedgehog inside the capsule with awe. She was excited that the project was almost finished and couldn't wait to see what the hedgehog would do once it was awakened.

"Is it a boy or a girl? I'd love for it to be a girl. It'll be just like having a little sister." Maria said happily.

"We believe that it's a boy. Are you disappointed?"

Maria shook her head with a smile.

"No. I'll love it in the same way."

Gerald chuckled lightly and turned back towards the capsule. He sighed happily imagining what life would be like once the hedgehog woke up.

A month's time had passed and the hedgehog grew quickly inside the capsule. There was an air of excitement throughout the underground compound as the scientists and their small families talked about the awakening of Professor Gerald's project. Gerald himself was full of joy as well and moved about with the energy of a child. Everything in the lab was being prepared for when the creature awakened. There were cameras set up in the lab so that the other residents could watch from within their living quarters.

The area around the capsule was cleared away and the wires connected to the hedgehog had been removed. As the final touches were being made, Gerald observed the hedgehog floating inside the capsule as it made small movements. He decided that Maria would name the hedgehog once she was brought down to the lab. Other than that he gazed at the creature in awe. The hedgehog was quite small and black. His distinct features were his quills that pointed up and the red markings on his body. Gerald smiled at the hedgehog imaging what he would do when it woke up.

"Professor, everything is ready." a scientist said to Gerald.

"Very well. Turn on the cameras so everyone can see this groundbreaking event." Gerald ordered.

The old man walked back behind a computer console a few other scientists stood behind. The lights were dimmed in the room and the capsule machine was started up in order to wake the hedgehog. As the machine warmed up residents throughout the compound watched on with excitement as bubbles filled the capsule. The small hedgehog inside began to moved around more, slowly stretching himself out of his fetal position. All of the scientists in the room looked on astonished at the slow movements of the hedgehog. The residents were excited as well as the hedgehog began to upright himself within the yellow liquid. He opened his eyes and murmurs filled the room as scientists began to talk amongst themselves. Gerald gave the signal to drain the capsule and slowly the liquid was let out.

When the capsule was completely empty a few of the scientists stepped forward, along with Gerald, towards the capsule. As the glass opened up, the black and red hedgehog looked around at them curiously with his fur dripping of the liquid. Gerald stepped forward and held out his hand towards the hedgehog. The black hedgehog looked at Gerald's hand and took it slowly as the professor helped him off of the capsule platform.

"Go and get Maria will you." Gerald said quietly to one of his colleagues.

The old man then turned back to the hedgehog and smiled.

"Hello there." Gerald said gently. "My name is Professor Gerald Robotnik."

The hedgehog looked at Gerald and then around at the other scientist. He then turned back to the professor and pointed at the others. Gerald and few of the others chuckled.

"Why they are my colleagues, people with whom I work with." Gerald explained to the hedgehog.

The black hedgehog then pointed to the capsule behind him.

"That is a capsule. You were held inside of it for quite a long time. It was sort of like your home but now this place is your new home."

The hedgehog stared at the professor silently unable to speak. Just then a scientist approached the hedgehog holding out a pair of red, white, and gray shoes. The hedgehog looked at the shoes tilting his head.

"Those are yours my friend." Gerald said grabbing the hedgehog's attention.

Gerald picked up one of the shoes and turned it over to show it's sole. Three jet holes were revealed on the bottom and the hedgehog touched them with a finger.

"You put these on your feet to walk around in. Those jets allow you to hover as well. I'm sure you will be able to learn how to use them." Gerald explained happily.

The hedgehog took up the shoes quietly and put them on. He stomped the ground with them enjoying their comfortable feel and suddenly the jets turned on. He hovered into the air unable to control himself and fell onto Gerald. A few scientists laughed lightly murmuring to each other. Gerald helped the hedgehog back onto his feet patting him on his back. The scientists then handed the hedgehog a pair of white gloves and Gerald instructed him to put them on his hands. Suddenly the door to the lab opened up and Maria rushed into the room through the small group of scientists. When she reached the center her face glowed with excitement.

"Wow…" she said breathlessly.

The hedgehog looked at Maria curiously and then, imitating Gerald, held out his hand. Maria took the hedgehog's hand and shook it lightly.

"My name is Maria. Can you say Maria?" the girl said with her warm smile.

"Ma…" the hedgehog uttered.

Gerald and the other scientists immediately looked at the hedgehog as dead silence fell upon the room.

"Ma… Ma…ri…a." the hedgehog managed to say.

There was a sudden clamor of conversation among the scientists frightening the hedgehog a bit. He hung onto Maria looked around frightened. Gerald calmed his colleagues down and averted his attention back to Maria.

"What about a name Maria? Have you thought of one yet?" Gerald asked.

"Hmm…how about Shadow." Maria replied. "His black color reminds me of a hedgehog's shadow.

"Yes, Shadow is very appropriate for him. So I guess that's your new name my little friend."

"Sha…dow?" the hedgehog asked.

"Yes." said Maria. "Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Shadow…the…hedgehog." Shadow repeated.

There was a light applause coming from the other scientists and Shadow looked around. He could see smiles upon their face and felt a warm feeling in his heart. He too smiled as well and Maria hugged him tightly.

"I have a feeling that we're going to be best friends." Maria said to Shadow.


	2. A Threat Beyond Belief

Before the Vision

Chapter 2: A Threat Beyond Belief  
It had only been a few hours since Shadow woke up and already everyone was taking a liking to him. He learnt the names of many people he met and became very open to their friendly smiles. Although everyone treated Shadow nicely, the hedgehog still stayed by Maria's side for most of the day. The young girl showed Shadow around the compound and visited areas she frequently went. Shadow was left in awe by everything he saw and wanted to touch some of the things he saw as well. Gerald went along with the two for a while observing Shadow's learning capabilities. He had picked up on so many things and was already talking in small sentences to Maria.

He then left the two in the library to return to his office and record down everything that had happened that morning. As Gerald worked in his office, a young male scientist entered into the room. He had short red hair and deep blue eyes and was in his casual clothes. The man approached Gerald's desk and cleared his throat.

"Ah, Richard." Gerald greeted the man. "Is there something you'd like to talk about?"

"Why yes professor." Richard replied taking a seat in a chair at Gerald's desk. "It's about Shadow…"

"Amazing isn't he? He's already speaking full sentences and knows how to use many of the things in my living quarters."

"Uh yeah… I was just wondering if you were planning on taking Shadow above ground, you know to see the world."

"Hmm…I'm not sure if he's ready for that yet. I'm not even sure if anyone else above will be able to handle Shadow's appearance as well."

"I'm not talking about showing him around…"

Gerald raised an eyebrow at the young scientist.

"Go on." Gerald said cautiously.

"I'm saying that we should take him above ground and show him off to other institutes. Show them what we've accomplished and how good we are. Just think of the publicity!" Richard said with some excitement.

"Absolutely not! I will not parade Shadow around as if he's just some object for people to ogle at. He is a creature with feelings just like anyone else and I would not want to damage him emotionally."

"But think about all the money we could get from the showings! We'll be able to build a bigger institute instead of wallow around in this dinky underground place!"

"ENOUGH!" Gerald was on his feet with his fist clenched. "We did not toil two years on creating Shadow just to make profit! Now I suggest that you take your selfish ideas and leave the institute at once for I will not tolerate it!"

Richard stood up grumbling under his breath and stormed out of the office. Gerald quietly sat back down in his seat and sighed heavily before going back to work.

"I can't believe that old man shot me down like that!" Richard said angrily as he walked down the hallway. "If I was head of this place I would already be making plans for that lame hedgehog."

As Richard continued on down the hallway he bumped into Maria who was walking back to the library. Richard apologized quietly and walked on leaving Maria baffled. She shrugged it off and went into the library. In the children's section Shadow was sitting in a chair looking through a children's book. He couldn't read the words without Maria's help so he just looked at the pictures of things he was familiar with. When Maria joined him he pointed to a picture of a dog and showed it to Maria.

"That's a dog right?" he asked quietly.

"Yes it is." Maria replied with a smile. "What about that one?"

Maria pointed to a bird singing in a tree.

"A bird…that's singing." Shadow answered.

"Very good! You want to start reading it to me?"

Shadow looked up at Maria in dismay. He was a bit nervous about reading but his friend assured him that she would help him with the difficult words. So the hedgehog cleared his throat and turned back to the first page.

"S…Sally has a small…fam…fami…" Shadow frowned a bit.

"Family." Maria whispered.

"Right… 'Sally has a small family. There is Sally,… her gran…grandfa..ther, and her little bro…ther Sam.' That's just like us."

Maria smiled at the hedgehog nodding her head.

"They lived in a small…house that was in a small town. They had many…friends…and vis…visited them everyday."

Before Shadow could start reading on the next page, Maria's watch went off. It was lunchtime meaning that Maria had to go back to her living quarters to make lunch for her and Gerald.

"Can I stay here?" Shadow asked. "I want to finish reading this book."

"Ok then Shadow." Maria answered. "Just come straight home when you're done here."

Shadow understood and Maria left the library while Shadow continued to read. He glanced over at the pictures in the book quietly. He realized that Sally's family reminded him of his own family. He saw how Sally, her grandfather, and younger brother got along with each other and were always happy with each other. Shadow smiled knowing that his small family was just the same. Happy, small, and peaceful with many friends. It was something he wanted to hold onto forever and never wanted to let go of.

Hours later after dinner had been eaten, Shadow still had not returned back home. Maria had just finished cleaning up the kitchen and looked at the front door worried about Shadow.

"Grandfather, has Shadow come home yet?" Maria asked Gerald.

Gerald was in the living room in his armchair reading a book. He looked up at his granddaughter and then at the door.

"I'm afraid not Maria." Gerald replied. "But I did run into the librarian about an hour ago. She told me that Shadow was still in the library reading."

"Oh…" Maria said relieved.

She then joined her grandfather in the living room.

"I wonder how many books he's read by now…" Maria thought out loud.

"Probably hundreds. He's learning so quickly he may be an advance reader by now and reading books that are even beyond my level." Gerald said with a light laugh.

Maria smiled at her grandfather's light humor and stared at the coffee table still thinking about Shadow. She felt Gerald's warm hand touch her and looked up at his assuring smile.

"Don't worry Maria, I'm sure Shadow will come home as soon as the library closes." he said to her softly. "Now why don't you go to bed. I'll stay up and wait for Shadow to return."

Maria thanked Gerald quietly and went to her bedroom.

An hour later the library had closed and Shadow was heading home. As he walked down the hallway, he passed the hallway leading to the main lab where the capsule was. Shadow stopped and noticed that the lights were on in the room and he could hear voices coming from inside. As the hedgehog crept closer towards the double doors he looked in through the crack and saw Richard talking to a friend of his at one of the lab tables. They seemed to be finishing up a small project.

"Dammit. I hate that stupid hedgehog." Richard said frustrated as he took off his safety goggles. "I try to convince Gerald to make that stupid animal useful for us and he shoots me down!"

"Hey, hey calm down." Richard's friend said quickly. "Maybe if we approach Gerald with a different plan concerning Shadow he'll probably accept it."

"I doubt that Louis. Gerald treats Shadow like his own grandson so he won't take any risks with that animal."

Louis sighed as he cleaned up the lab table.

"I guess you're right. Besides Shadow's always around Maria so my guess is that Gerald doesn't want to separate the two too much."

"Yeah Maria." Richard said in disgust. "You know if that stupid kid wasn't so ill, Gerald wouldn't be holding all of us back from becoming better scientists. I don't know why he even bothers taking care of that lazy ass girl, she's gonna die anyways."

Enraged by those words, Shadow slammed open the door with anger in his eyes. Richard and Louis looked up shocked but Richard soon had a spiteful look on his face.

"Well, well if it isn't the special guy. What are you doing down here stupid?" Richard asked with an attitude.

"I am not stupid…" Shadow replied sternly.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. You know if Gerald hadn't wasted the last two years on you, we would all be somewhere by now!"

"Don't talk about the professor that way! He's a caring man who does what's best for everyone!"

"I suppose keeping all of us cooped up underground like rats is what's good for us huh!? It's not helping you idiot! We're still stuck here doing lame projects, and if Maria was never born--"

Shadow had tackled Richard midway through his sentence. Louis stayed back afraid of what the hedgehog might do. Shadow stared Richard down growling with every breath. He felt his anger growing inside of him.

"Don't you ever…**ever** speak ill of Maria." Shadow growled through his teeth. "She obviously means the world to Gerald and it would shatter his heart if she died!"

"Go to hell you stupid hedgehog." Richard retorted in a low tone.

He then grabbed Shadow by his back and threw the hedgehog at a nearby lab table. Shadow slid across it smashing through the glass objects and slammed into the cabinets behind the table and fell to the floor. He laid there with small shards of glass in his skin and heard Richard and Louis heading for the exit. Shadow balled up his fist squeezing a shard of glass in his hand. A small line of blood dripped from the palm of his hand as the hedgehog felt his anger grow at an amazing rate. Tears began to form in his shut eyes but then they suddenly opened up. His eyes were glowing a blood red color and Shadow leapt up off the floor and onto the lab table.

Richard and Louis turned around just as they reached the door and yelped at the sight of Shadow. The fearsome hedgehog was hunched over in a crouching position breathing harshly. Steam rose from his body and his hands dug deeply into the metal table.

"W-what's going on?" Louis asked trembling.

"I don't know!" Richard shouted. "Let's get out of here!"

Just as the two men turned to leave, Shadow unleashed a powerful blast of energy shutting the double doors and locking them. Richard and Louis turned back shaking in fear as Shadow leapt off the table and onto the floor.

"DIE!!" the hedgehog yelled.

A blast of wind filled the lab knocking over glass test tubes and anything other objects on the tables in the room. Richard and Louis were pushed back into the doors and unable to open their eyes from the harsh wind. As for Shadow his body had a red aura around it and slowly he began to grow and change shape. His face became like that of a lizard and his ears became long and sharp folding back against his head. Shadow's arms grew tremendously becoming muscular with large sharp claws on his hands. His legs grew in the same manner becoming muscular, and a set of scales grew down his back to the tip of his long tail. Wings sprouted on Shadow's back with their span taking up the width of the lab. His eyes were a deep red color and his mouth was drooling of saliva as he showed off his sharp incisors.

Richard and Louis were on the floor trembling as Shadow approached the two with booming footsteps. He let out a low growl and had a sinister look on his face.


	3. The Aftermath

Before the Vision

Chapter 3: The Aftermath  
Richard and Louis were on the floor trembling as Shadow approached the two with booming footsteps. He let out a low growl and had a sinister look on his face. Noises could be heard coming from outside of the door. The men screamed and shouted banging on the door, but Shadow gave out a tremendous roar rocking the lab.

"Please!!" Richard begged. "Please don't kill us!!"

"Kill…" Shadow spoke in a deep distorted voice.

Suddenly the overgrown monster slapped Louis to the side and slashed his claws at Richard. The claws ripped through the man's clothes leaving cut marks on his chest. He cried out in agony and curled up on the floor from the searing pain he felt. Apparently there was some sort of poison within Shadow's claws. Shadow then tossed Richard into the air and breathed out fire engulfing Richard's airborne body. When he fell to the ground the man was completely burnt and dead leaving Louis trembling with tears running down his face. Shadow turned towards Louis breathing heavily. There were banging noise on the door indicating that someone was trying to get in.

Shadow stood silently as the door finally broke open and a team of security officers ran in. They were appalled at the sight of Richard's burnt body and even more frightened at the sight of Shadow. Professor Gerald came into the room as well and was horrified at what he saw.

"Sh-Shadow?" he asked in a small voice.

The monster simply growled and let out a horrific roar almost deafening everyone in the room. Shadow began attacking the officers knocking them left and right. Gerald took cover behind a nearby desk with his heart pounding.

"_Is this what I created? Is this a result of my rushed behavior?_" The terrified man thought to himself.

The officers began to attack Shadow with their guns and tranquilizers, but nothing seemed to work. The monster continued on attacking them headstrong; his anger appeared to be growing.

"There's no way we can bring him down captain!" one officer yelled.

"We might have to bring in the heavy artillery!" the captain yelled back.

"NO!! We mustn't kill him! I'm sure there's another way." Gerald said urgently to the captain.

Shadow let out another roar as he began to destroy the capsule. He suddenly went wild blowing out fire in all directions. Walls were scorched, lab equipment was destroyed, and the ceiling of the room began to fall apart. The officers and Gerald were on the floor taking cover from the flames and falling debris. A few of the equipment caught on fire and the officers began grabbing any available fire extinguisher and started putting out the small fires.

"You have any other ideas?! This thing will kill us all if we don't stop it!" the captain shouted at Gerald.

Gerald was about to respond but he saw Maria enter into the room with a terrified look on her face.

"MARIA!" Gerald cried out.

Maria fell to the ground speechless at the sight of Shadow. As she observed the dragon-like creature destroying the room, tears filled her eyes. Shadow let out another roar and turned back towards the entrance and saw Maria. He suddenly stopped and an expression of sadness was on his face. He was no longer breathing heavily and seemed to be calming down. Maria's face was covered with tears as her jaw hung open. She tried to speak but no words came out of her mouth.

"Maria…" Shadow whispered.

Steam began to rise from his body and soon it began to shrink slowly. Shadow closed his eyes as he shrunk and began to take shape of his hedgehog form again. Once he was back to normal, a tremendous amount of steam was rising from all over his body. The burning sensation he felt inside was being cooled off by the air around him. Shadow and Maria stared into each other's eyes and the hedgehog took a step forward. But Maria fainted from the shock and Shadow collapsed seconds later out of exhaustion.

The main lab had been closed off for the next few days for repairs to be made. Shadow was transported to another lab above ground in the building the underground compound was built under. He was placed in a smaller capsule and was constantly monitored by security at night and other scientists during the day. As for Maria she was back in her living quarters with Professor Gerald. She was recovering slowly in her bedroom from the shock and had frequent nightmares in her sleep. Gerald spent most of his time with Maria keeping a close watch over her. He frequently made short trips above to check on Shadow and see how he was faring. But the anger of some of the residents added on to his troubles.

He was receiving threats of him and Maria being murdered in their sleep and many of the residents and other scientist began to look at him with sharp cutting eyes. Gerald had a security officer stand watch in front of his living quarters at night just for safety but the pain he felt inside for Maria was too much for him to take.

Days later after extensive research on Shadow's health stats, Gerald's colleagues found out the reason behind Shadow's transformation.

"Apparently it has something to do with his emotions and blood pressure." A scientist explained to Gerald. "Our guesses were that Shadow was angered for some reason causing his blood pressure to rise. His reaction to that sudden rise in blood pressure was his body heat rising."

And what does this have to do with his transformation?" Gerald asked.

"Well remember that one strand of DNA that gave off a vast amount of energy? Apparently that strand reacted to Shadow's body conditions like a natural reflex causing him transform into that beast."

"Is there anything else you've discovered?"

"No sir. This is all we were able to figure out so far but I'm sure there's more to it."

Gerald replied with a simple nod and walked away solemnly. He approached the small capsule at the center of the lab and stared at Shadow disheartened. The hedgehog was floating in a blue colored liquid with an air mask over his mouth and nose. Wires were attached to him which were obviously being used to monitor the hedgehog's conditions.

"Perhaps this was all a mistake…" Gerald said before leaving.

Later on that night Gerald sat quietly in his living reading his favorite book when Maria quietly came out her room in her nightgown. Gerald looked up immediately and hurried over to his granddaughter grabbing her hands.

"You're finally up." he said to her quietly with a joyful tone.

Maria nodded and tried to give her best smile. Gerald carefully led Maria over to the couch and helped her down. He sat down next to her and held onto her hand gently.

"How is Shadow?" Maria spoke in a weak voice.

Gerald froze unsure of what to say. He didn't want to tell Maria of Shadow's condition for he feared it may hurt her even more.

"He's…" Gerald said looking away.

A knock came from the front door in the silence and Gerald answered it. The scientist he had talked to earlier was standing there breathing hard. He had obviously ran from the lab with urgent news to tell. Gerald glanced back at Maria and stepped outside into the hallway closing the door behind him.

"What is it?" Gerald asked in a low tone.

"We've just discovered something." the scientist held up some papers in his hand. "That strand of DNA has grown and our studies have shown that it will continue to grow--"

"What!?"

"Only when he transforms Gerald. Do you realize that if this continues, Shadow will eventually revert back to his original form…permanently."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Without a doubt. Professor, there's really no way to stop this. I mean we can take a chance and try to remove that growing part of his DNA…"

"No chances. I won't put Shadow's life on line."

"…Then what can we do?"

Gerald looked off down the hallway deep in thought. He honestly could not think of anything to do about the situation. He recognized the strong bond that was forming between Maria and Shadow and did not want to jeopardize it. Yet he also wanted to make sure that all of his friends and workers were safe in their small environment. The professor was left stumped with the situation and had to admit to his loss of any ideas.

"I can't really say much on what we can do… Shadow is just reacting naturally to a normal situation that humans would go through. So most of this heavily depends on how well he can control those emotions."

The scientist stood silently staring at Gerald as the old man went into deep thought again. But Gerald decided to give up on finding a solution and just let Shadow be for the next few days. He told the scientist to keep Shadow on life-support for the next few days until he seemed well enough the leave the capsule. The scientist understood and left Gerald. The professor entered back into his living quarters where Maria was still sitting on the couch, now with an anxious look on her face.

"Was that about Shadow?" she asked.

"Yes…" Gerald was unsure if he should tell Maria the details. "He's fine for now. He's in the lab above ground for safekeeping my dear, so don't worry about him."

Maria nodded feeling relieved. She stood up and went back into her bedroom to get more sleep. Gerald felt his heart sank for telling such a hurtful lie.


	4. Fearful Atmosphere

Before the Vision

Chapter 4: Fearful Atmosphere  
A week later after Gerald's talk with his colleagues, Shadow was released from his capsule and was back in the underground compound. But things were very different for him. He received looks of anger and distrust from people and noticed that a few whispered behind his back. He was not allowed back into the library so he could not read as much as he wanted. In fact he was very limited in the places he could go. Almost everywhere Shadow went he felt harassed emotionally by the people who saw him. Shadow ended up spending most of his time in his small home with Maria thinking about his actions a few weeks ago.

He was angered about what Richard had said about Maria but did not have any control over his emotions. Even though he tried to explain this to the people, they refused to listen to him or just called him a liar. Just thinking about their reactions hurt him inside. He grabbed onto a pillow on the couch and squeezed it in his hands. But suddenly the hedgehog felt Maria's soft hands on his and looked up into her caring eyes. Shadow dropped the pillow and laid across Maria's lap sighing heavily.

"Why doesn't anyone want to listen to me? They just ignore me and turn their backs…" Shadow said sadly.

"People tend to be afraid of things they don't understand." Maria commented.

"But still…I don't want to feel left out."

There was a short moment of silence where Maria had nothing else to say. She wanted to comfort Shadow with encouragement, but even she knew that nothing would lighten up the situation. Everyone was afraid of Shadow and nothing would redeem him from his heinous crime. Shadow sat up from Maria's lap and began to walk towards the front door. Maria asked Shadow where he was going. He paused and looked back over his shoulder.

"…Just out." he replied.

He quietly left the room and made his way down the hallway towards the destroyed lab. As he neared it, a burnt smell came across his nose. His mouth twitched for it reminded the hedgehog of that horrible night. He rounded the corner and could see the singed doorway ahead of him. The double doors had been removed and a 'do not enter' sign was placed in front of the door. The repairmen must have gone on a break for their tools were still in the area. As the black hedgehog approached the entrance he could see very clearly for the first time the massive damaged he caused to the lab.

The burning smell was strong almost causing Shadow's eyes to water. Some repairs had just begun on the left side of the lab for most of the destroyed equipment had been removed. Shadow stepped around the sign and entered the room. A few wires where still hanging from the ceiling and walls but did not spark any electricity. He could see large claw marks all over the room from his vicious attacks. Then there was the capsule…the very machine he was born in. It was nearly destroyed with large and small pieces of glass surrounding it. The base of the capsule had been slightly uprooted from the floor, and the top portion of the machine lay on the floor nearby.

Shadow began to shiver at the horrific sight.

"I did this…I did it all." Shadow thought. "The fear…the destruction. What was I thinking?"

Shadow's thoughts continued to wander throughout his head. Then vivid images of the attack entered into his mind flashing every few seconds. He then began to hear the screams and shouts of the people he attacked. Unable to take anymore of this, the hedgehog quickly left the room and ran down the hallway. He stopped at the end and took one more last look before heading back to Maria.


	5. Family Defined

Before the Vision

Chapter 5: Family Defined  
Days had past since the destruction of the lab and a few of the residents of the underground compound were slowly warming up to Shadow again. They were able to acknowledge his existence and even say a few words to the hedgehog, but Shadow could still sense a small fear within them. Other humans had chosen to completely ignore Shadow which was okay for the hedgehog for he eventually grew accustomed to it.

"_Easier to fit in than to fight against it_." the hedgehog mused.

He still spent most of his days at home with Maria, rarely going out with her on short trips around the compound. Although he was lacking in his social skills, Shadow began to increase his knowledge by going through books day by day. Most of which had belonged to Professor Gerald. All of this new information was fulfilling to the hedgehog but he still yearned for some communication with the humans.

One afternoon, Shadow was reclined on the couch reading an advance book. Maria and Gerald entered into the home with boxes in their arms. Shadow glanced up from the pages and watched the two as they set down the boxes near the kitchen counter.

"What's inside of those?" Shadow asked.

"Christmas decorations." Maria answered.

"What's Christmas?" Shadow sat up and closed the book he was reading.

"It's a holiday where families and friends get together and celebrate by eating dinner together and exchanging gifts…although this year we may not have many guests come by." Gerald answered reluctantly.

As Maria opened up one of the boxes Shadow came over and took a look inside. All sorts of decorations sat inside such as ornaments, lights, streamers, and tinsel for the Christmas tree. Shadow picked up and ornament inside and examined it. It was gold with silver decorations all over it. The hedgehog tossed it back and forth in his hands as Maria and Gerald watched him.

"And this is for…?" Shadow finally asked.

"The tree." Maria answered. "I'm not sure if we'll be able to get one this year…"

"Don't worry about it Maria. A good friend of mine from above ground should be able to bring one down to us in a few days." Gerald said.

Maria smiled at her grandfather and then at Shadow. The hedgehog was slightly confused by this new tradition.

"You two can set up a few decorations around here. I have some work I must return to." Gerald said before he left.

Maria opened up the other box and took out a few candles. She set them upon the coffee table and went back to the box but noticed Shadow staring at her.

"You want to help?" she asked.

"…Okay." Shadow replied timidly.

The two began to set up angel figurines and other small holiday knickknacks around the living room area. When all was finished Shadow noticed a few cards left at the bottom of the box. He took one out and read it silently.

"_Your father and I miss you very much Maria. We hope to return home from our trip by Christmas, but if not then here's a card that should make up for our absence. We love you with all of our hearts._

_Lots of love,  
__Mom and Dad"_

Shadow turned and handed the card to Maria who was straightening out a few figurines. She looked down and took the card and read it. Her eyes began to glaze over after reading through the card.

"This was from my parents." she said in a small voice.

"What happened to them?" the hedgehog asked out of curiosity.

"They…they got into an accident on the way back home from their trip. Their plane crashed somewhere in the mountains…I was only five or six when this happened."

A few tears fell out of Maria's eyes and suddenly she felt a warm hand grab her hand. She looked down into Shadow's caring eyes and smiled at him.

"You'll be ok Maria." Shadow said to her.

Maria nodded her head and fell to her knees hugging the hedgehog. Surprised by this a bit, Shadow hesitated but eventually hugged Maria back patting her back gently. He finally realized how it felt to show compassion for someone. It felt very different than what he had experienced. To be on the giving end of sympathy rather than on the receiving end left a great feeling within him.

Slowly Shadow began to understand the dire need for the comfort of others and why rejection from society as a whole is never a good thing. He began to understand that with emotions, there will always be a need for someone who will accept you for who you are no matter what you've done. The hedgehog figured that the only ones who would do such a thing were a family. Shadow felt that he finally found that family…and they were Maria and Gerald.

"_Maria_…" he thought. "_my sister_."


	6. My Unforgivable Sin

Before the Vision 

Chapter 6: My Unforgivable Sin

_*sigh* Here I am again. Inside this stupid capsule. At least there's no water in here and I don't have to wear that stupid air mask. Why do I even bother living? I just keep screwing up every time things get good. They may keep me in here permanently from now on. I just hope I didn't put anyone out with the damage I did underground. And then…Maria. Why? Why did I have to do that to her?! I'm only making her life more difficult so I deserve to die!! …I can just hear them… the voices of the people. All of them yelling at me "Shadow must die!!" I'm sure it's what they all want by now. Yet I had to do it on the most sacred day of all… Christmas. I should've just stayed in and played some games with Maria and the professor. _

_Oh I'm so sorry Maria. Please forgive me! I didn't want to kill you, honestly! I just… couldn't control myself. Now I'm back in this small world of my own… with just my thoughts and guilt to keep me company. …Dammit! _

_I was going to give you a present Maria… but then… it happened. I'm not sure if it's still in one piece but if it is then please take it. It's the only way I can make it up to you. Oh… here come those scientists… here we go with more annoying tests. _

_… _

_What?! …Put me to sleep?! What are they talking about? Wait… I've read about that. They're going to kill me. No! I want to live!! …That's right look over here! I want to live! Turn on those speakers so I can speak for myself. _

"What do you want you monster?" 

"I'm no monster! I couldn't help it! 

"Enough of that! That's what you said last time. You said you would control it but what happened?! What happened?!" 

_…Damn…_

"That's what I thought hedgehog. You're better off dead and gone rather than alive and threatening us. We're lucky you didn't destroy everything underground." 

_…Someone please get me out of here. Get me away from here! Anywhere! I just want to start over and start fresh! I'll never be able to change around here… never. Why was I cursed with such power…? _

_… _

_Huh? Professor! Please get me out of here! I want to see my sister! I want to see Maria. _

_…_

"Shadow… how are you?" 

"…I'm fine professor. What about Maria?" 

"…She's…in the hospital." 

"What?! Is she hurt? Did I damage her in anyway?" 

"Don't worry. There's no physical pain… it's just the sudden shock she suffered from and… her condition seems to be worsening." 

"Condition…? Is she sick?" 

"Yes Shadow but it's not your fault. She has had a terminal illness ever since she was a young child and will eventually die if I don't find a cure…" 

_Maria… will die?_

"Professor …what are you going to do?" 

"I do not know Shadow… I really can't say at this point. There's no way you'll be leaving that capsule anytime soon so don't get your hopes up too high." 

"It's ok… you're better off with Maria. I can take care of myself." 

_Yeah…__ Maria does need you more than anyone else professor. Besides I won't be going anywhere soon with everyone out to get me. I don't even understand why I'm here anymore. Maybe I should ask …No why bother. _

"Shadow? You seem to have something on your mind. Would you like to talk about it?" 

_Talk about it? I don't even want to think about it. It just brings me pain to know what I'm capable of and that I can do nothing about it. …But that's not what Maria would tell me. No… she would tell me to never give up. Keep on going and improve yourself because life is too short to let go of. _

_… _

_I'll do it. I'll talk. It's what Maria would've wanted._

"Professor… everything that's happened, all of these attacks… they're bothering me… and they hurt. I can't take it anymore!" 

_…One step at a time…_

"I don't know how to control my emotions when they're so strong within me! I want to express the way I feel but it comes out all wrong." 

"What happened Christmas morning that angered you?" 

"…Some other scientists… I forgot their names but they kept on harassing me about my first attack. I wanted to yell at them but… it came out all wrong. I didn't mean to cause so much damage." 

"I understand Shadow… just take your time." 

_Right… take it slowly. Don't rush through this._

"I wish everyone would treat me fairly but… their reactions are just apart of human nature… and it can't be helped. But it doesn't make up for all the pain and anger I feel inside of me. Nothing ever will! I often begin to wonder why am I even here? What's my purpose? I see no one that needs me… no one except Maria… my sister." 

"Sister? Do go on Shadow." 

"Professor I want to do something about this. I want to make it all stop. But how?" 

_Please give me an answer. I know you know what's going on with me professor._

"Shadow I wasn't sure if I should tell you this but it's obvious that now is a good time. Your powers, Shadow, they come from a strand of DNA that was very small at first. But after the two transformations that energized strand of DNA has grown and will continue to grow with each transformation." 

"…Then what will happen?" 

"Eventually at its peak you will turn back into your first form permanently. The form you turn into when you lose control of your emotions." 

_…I can't believe it. It's as if it's my destiny to destroy everyone I know… This truly is a curse. _

_… _

_Why am I crying? What do I have to cry for when I will cause so much pain and trauma. Perhaps these tears are for Maria. Perhaps these tears are my only present to her… a present of sorrow and sympathy. I honestly love Maria with all of my heart, but who I truly am continues to tear out worlds into two. I don't want to be further away from her, I want to be closer. I want to hold onto Maria until it's her time to die. I won't allow who I am to tear my family apart! I won't let that beast win!_

"Professor… I have something to say." 

"What is it Shadow? 

"It's a promise… to Maria. My present to her. All I ever felt was guilt after the first time I transformed and now I feel even more guilt than ever. But I never was able to give Maria her present on Christmas. Since it was destroyed then this is all that I have left to give." 

_I hope your heart can hear this Maria… I hope it's open for you to hear it all. _

"If I ever changed into that hideous monster again, I will do whatever I can with my powers to prevent myself from becoming that monster… for good." 

_There I said it. I hope you heard me Maria because your grandfather did. I'm sure he understands now that I do care about you and your life. That I do want to live and see you. You're the only thing that I have in this cold world now Maria. You're the only one who will accept me for who I am besides the professor. I never want to see you cry…ever. And if someone does make you cry… no. No one can make you cry. I've never seen anyone do that to you. You're too strong… and me? I'm too weak. I can't even take little pathetic comments from people who mean nothing in my life. This is why I need you because you give me the courage I need to take control of my life… and make something out of myself. And I… I'll be there by your side to give you the strength to live everyday to the fullest. _

_…We're a family Maria. You, me, and the professor. We'll always be there for each other. _


	7. Adjustment

Before the Vision 

Chapter 7: Adjustment

Almost a month had past ever since the terrible Christmas accident, and yet Shadow was still inside of the capsule constantly being monitored. He grew accustomed to it eventually and actually remembered the faces and names of the scientists on each shift. He really had nothing else to do as they conducted countless tests on him and Prof. Gerald was rarely seen. 

"_I guess he's spending more time with Maria." Shadow thought to himself. _

Despite the lack of seeing his loved ones, Shadow was reassured that Maria and Gerald were doing well. The only thing left that he could look forward to was returning to his home… if it would ever happen. 

In the second week of February the scientists performing tests on Shadow decided to take a week long break. It became quite lonely for the hedgehog since the only faces that ever came into the lab were a few security guards, but like before he adjusted to it. Spending most of his hours sleeping inside the capsule, Shadow finally had some time to himself. Instead of bringing back past memories he decided to focus on other things that joggled his mind. Like the world outside the lab. He'd never seen it before but imagined it to be much better than life underground. To the best of his ability, Shadow used his mind to create an image of what it might look like on the outside. Dazzling colors, a loving sun beaming down on him. Certainly the outside world was worth living in if it was as beautiful as he imagined. But his chances of ever seeing it were darkened by his imprisonment. 

Midway through the week unexpected visitors came to see Shadow. He was sleeping silently inside the capsule when the security clearance was heard coming from the other side of the entrance. The small beep awoke the hedgehog but he remained on his back assuming it was just the guards. As the doors hissed open and closed, Shadow's ears twitched at the sound of footsteps approaching the capsule. A light recognizable voice greeted him to his surprise and the black and red hedgehog immediately shot up and turned around. There in front of his eyes were Maria in a wheelchair and Prof. Gerald standing behind her. 

"MARIA!" Shadow yelled happily shooting up to his feet. 

He pressed his hands against the glass smiling happily at the young girl. Maria returned the smile and waved to him lightly. 

"I missed you." she said in her tiny voice. 

"I missed you too Maria." Shadow replied. 

He could feel himself coming to tears over the reunion with his 'sister'. Although still inside the capsule, Shadow could feel Maria's warm and gentle smile giving him a hug and embraced the feeling with a sigh. Gerald observed the two as they silently exchanged their feelings and felt quite emotional himself. 

"It's so wonderful to finally see you two back together again." Gerald said quietly. "Now that Maria is out of the hospital I can try to get you out of the capsule Shadow." 

"Really?" Shadow's hopeful eyes looked upon the professor. 

"Yes. It may be a bit difficult but perhaps Maria can 'convince' my colleagues that you're not as terrible as they think." Gerald had a light but somehow sly smile on his face. 

Shadow immediately caught on to the professor's idea and smirked as well. But he looked back at Maria and then gave a questioning look at the wheelchair she was in. 

"Why are you in a wheelchair?" Shadow asked. 

"The doctors said that I should stay off of my feet for a while but I feel perfectly fine. Grandfather here wanted me to stay in the chair anyways. You know how protective his is." Maria replied cheerfully. 

Shadow chuckled a bit as Gerald proceeded to turn Maria's wheelchair around. 

"Don't worry Shadow." Gerald said looking back at the hedgehog. "It'll only be a few more days before you're out of here." 

"Ok then professor." Shadow replied. 

Maria waved goodbye and Shadow did likewise. The hedgehog watched the two disappear out of sight as the metal doors hissed open and closed again. A long sigh came out of Shadow as he leaned against the glass sliding to the floor. His heart was still racing as if he had just gotten off of an intense roller coaster ride. Just the sight of Maria left Shadow nearly speechless and void of all of his troubles. With the promise the professor gave, Shadow had a future to look forward to; a future with his best friend and 'sister', Maria. 

"_I can't believe it." The hedgehog thought. "__I'm finally going home to Maria." _

Just the though of being back home made his heart flutter ever so lightly. All of his troubles with the scientists seemed to have disappeared. Nothing else mattered to the hedgehog anymore besides the comfort of his home. Life suddenly returned to the beautiful state Shadow was so accustomed to… a state of serenity with the family he loved so much. 

Professor Gerald had kept his word. In just a matter of a few days Shadow was released from the capsule. A few unpleasant eyes fell upon the hedgehog as he stepped down from the capsule platform and followed Gerald out of the lab, but Shadow hardly even noticed. His thoughts remained on Maria who was waiting for him at home in the underground compound. As Gerald and Shadow descended down the elevator to the underground compound, Shadow couldn't stop fidgeting. The suspense of just getting home was killing him inside and he quickly grew impatient like a small child waiting for his gift. 

Finally the elevator doors opened and before Gerald had even stepped out, Shadow darted past the professor taking off down the hallway. 

"_I'm coming Maria…" was all that Shadow could think. _

He flew past other residents who stepped aside watching the hedgehog blaze past him. The jets on his shoes had turned on automatically allowing him to glide down the halls smoothly. Shadow made the final turn down the hallway where home was and skidded to a stop in front of the door. He quickly entered the code and the metal door hissed open. Shadow flew in heading towards Maria who was sitting on the couch with a book in hand. He dove into Maria's lap pushing her against the back of the couch and wrapped his arms around her tightly. 

"Oh Maria!" Shadow said almost crying. 

"Shadow!" Maria said with a light giggle. "I see you're glad to be home." 

The hedgehog gave no reply but held onto Maria longer as the teenager caressed him softly. A few seconds later Gerald entered into home letting out a tired breath and placing his hand over his chest. 

"My," he exhaled. "I've never seen Shadow move so quickly." 

The old professor slumped into his armchair still catching his breath. Maria laughed lightly as she pulled Shadow onto her lap. 

"I guess coming home was all that Shadow could think about." Maria said looking down at the hedgehog. 

"Yes it most certainly was." Gerald took off his glasses wiping them with a handkerchief. "I have a feeling he'll be spending more time with you from now on. Every time he ventures out, Shadow seems to get into more trouble with the others." 

Maria agreed with a simple nod and continued to caress Shadow's head as he laid silently in her lap. She couldn't help but wonder why he was so silent at the moment. Perhaps after the past harsh month the hedgehog did not want to ruin this sweet reunion with words. 

As the days past life slowly returned to normalcy for Shadow and his small family. He and Maria exchanged gifts on Valentine's Day and Shadow even recited a poem he wrote to Gerald and Maria. Gerald was certainly right on one point. Shadow did spend more time with Maria and never left the home. The two played games together and discussed books they had both read. Maria even explained to Shadow what it was like in the outside world. 

Vivid images of a brilliant yellow sun and crystal blue sky swirled in the hedgehog's head. He imagined the air being crisp and clean and feeling of the soft grass on his hands. But what reeled him in was Maria's description of the sunsets. A soft water colored sky of orange, red, pink, and indigo was painted onto the canvas of Shadow's mind. The half-sun sitting on the horizon preparing for a goodnight's rest satiated the hedgehog's imagination. A cool breeze coming in, stars dotting the sky, the crickets crying their soft melodies of sorrow… It was definitely a whole new world for Shadow as he disappeared into depths of his mind. 

"I want to see this outside world." he said, his eyes closed and his body lounged back on the couch. 

"See it?" Maria asked. "Well I'm not sure. It all depends on if grandfather says that it's ok." 

Just then Gerald stepped out of his room joining the two in the living room. 

"So what's the discussion about today?" he asked. 

"Shadow wants to go outside." Maria informed her grandfather. 

"Outside?" Gerald scratched his bald head pondering for a second. "Well I'm not exactly sure about that. I am going to be quite busy the next few days…" 

"I can take him." 

Gerald looked at Maria surprised a bit. 

"I honestly think that you're still not well enough to leave Maria. Perhaps much later--" 

"She'll be ok professor. I'll be with her." Shadow interrupted Gerald. 

The old man looked over at the hedgehog still having doubts in his mind. Shadow sat up and looked into Gerald's eyes sternly, hopefully to show his determination. Seconds went by before Gerald exhaled placing his hands on his hips. 

"I guess there's no holding you back Shadow." Gerald said. "Tomorrow you and Maria can go outside and take a look around town. But don't stray too far from the institute ok you two?" 

"We promise." Shadow and Maria replied in unison. 

Gerald left the home to go and finish some work in his office. As soon as the door closed Maria and Shadow looked at each other with smiles. 

"Getting excited?" Maria asked. 

"Of course!" Shadow exclaimed. 

Once again a rush of anticipation filled the hedgehog as he laid back across the couch. After so much misfortune things were finally looking up for the hedgehog. He would finally get to see the outside world and be able to taste the crisp air in his lungs. He could just feel the sun's beams already warming him up and the sounds of chirping birds filling his ears with joy. As Maria went back to sewing a small mitten she was making, Shadow decided to take a short nap and hopefully dream about the new world he would see very soon.


	8. The World Outside

Before the Vision 

Chapter 8: The World Outside 

A soft blue light with its ambient presence filled the small room gently. A young girl laid in her bed sleeping softly with the alarm clock on her bed stand reading 5:09 a.m. in lime numbers. The air was still and peaceful until her bedroom door opened up silently and closed a second later. In the midst of the lit darkness a pair of red and white shoes crept silently to the girl's bedside. The black and red hedgehog looked over at the sleeper and gently placed a hand on her should. 

"Maria…" he whispered. 

The girl did not stir. The hedgehog shook the sleeping girl gently, still whispering her name. 

"Maria… wake up Maria." 

Finally the young teenager turned facing the hedgehog murmuring in her sleep causing the hedgehog to growl under his breath silently. Impatiently he placed both hands on the girl and shook her slightly harder than before. 

"Maria…" he whined a little louder. 

Successfully Maria awoke dazed with sleep in her eyes. She pushed herself up squinting at the clock and then back at the eager hedgehog. 

"Shadow…" Maria wiped some sleep from her eyes. "It's five in the morning. What are you doing up?" 

"I'm ready to go outside." Shadow complained moving impatiently. "Let's go!" 

Maria was going to respond but instead gave a short yawn and laid back down turning away from Shadow. The hedgehog crossed his arms scoffing in an upset manner. 

"The sun's not out yet." he heard his friend reply sleepily. "Go back to sleep on the couch. We can leave a few hours." 

Shadow exhaled heavily and left Maria's room angered closing her door softly. Out in the main area the kitchen light over the stove was turned on leaving the living room area in darkness. Still feeling disappointed, Shadow plopped down onto the couch and sat there listening to the stillness. The ticking noise of the grandfather clock, which was usually unnoticeable, suddenly became loud and unruly in the silence. The hedgehog's left ear began to twitch in time with the clock's boisterous noise. Shadow then kept his eye on the clock's face watching the second hand move ever so slowly and testing his nerves. 

After fifteen seconds Shadow finally let out a rather loud growl and laid across the couch on his back, his hands behind his head. The clock's incessant ticking still continued to pester his mind. Suddenly a song Maria had played on her radio popped into Shadow's head. He began to hum it in hopes of drowning out the clock's noise. His planned worked for only a few seconds and once again the hedgehog's impatience got the best of him. The black hedgehog sat up glancing up at the grandfather clock. Only a minute had gone by!? Waiting a couple of hours for Maria and Gerald to wake up was going to kill Shadow sooner or later. 

Just when things looked hopeless Shadow's eyes fell upon a heavy book on the coffee table. Perhaps reading would pass the time quickly since nothing else seemed to work. With another heavy sigh Shadow opened up the book and began to read it. 

Two hours passed and soon the brilliant sun rose outside. Residents of the underground compound began to wake up little by little and filled the hallways with their noise. Prof. Gerald was the first to wake in the Robotnik home. The old professor exited out of his room wearing a burgundy robe and black slippers on his feet. As he placed his thick glasses over his eyes Gerald stopped immediately shocked to see Shadow already up. The hedgehog was now kneeling next to coffee table, the chess board sitting in front of him. The heavy book he had started reading hours ago was on the floor and Shadow was amusing himself with the chess pieces playing with them tiredly like toys. 

"How long have you been awake Shadow?" Gerald asked walking towards the living room area. 

"Been up since five." Shadow replied drearily knocking a chess piece over. 

"Oh I see." Gerald entered into the kitchen. "Anxious to go above ground?" 

"Hell yeah! Oops… I mean yes." 

Gerald simply chuckled at the hedgehog's demeanor and proceeded to make himself a cup of coffee. Shadow went back to the chess pieces knocking a bishop over before sighing in frustration. Tired of waiting any longer for Maria, the temperamental hedgehog got up and stormed over to Maria's bedroom door. Gerald glanced over his shoulder as he heard Shadow knocking harshly on the door. 

"Maria!" Shadow whined loudly. "Hurry up already! The sun's not gonna stay out forever!" 

"Shadow!" Maria's muffled voice responded slightly annoyed. 

Light footsteps were heard coming towards the door and Maria opened it. She was still in her nightgown and gave Shadow an irritated look. 

"I'll be out ok? Just let me get change into my day clothes." 

The door closed again and Shadow walked back into the living room with his arms crossed. He sat on the couch scowling at the chess board and then looked at Gerald who was sipping his coffee. Although they conveyed no words the hedgehog turned away giving his usual scoff as a response. 

"Patience Shadow." Gerald finally spoke. "You and Maria will have plenty of time to go outside and see everything." 

"But she's taking too long. I hate waiting." Shadow grumbled. 

"You mustn't be so demanding of others Shadow. Not everything will go the way you want to and you'll have to learn how to wait on a few things." 

The hedgehog gave no response. 

"You can either be more polite to Maria or I can forbid you from going outside at all…" 

Shadow released his impatient anger and sighed dropping his arms. 

"Fine then professor." he said calming down. "I'll be nice to Maria." 

Gerald simply nodded as he took another sip of his coffee. Finally Maria's bedroom door opened and she came out in her sea green dress ready to go. 

"Ready to go Shadow?" she asked her friend. 

The black hedgehog nodded quietly, slid off the couch, and walked towards the door. Maria followed him and before she exited the home turned back to wave goodbye to Gerald. The metal door closed behind the two as they began to walk down the small corridor. Shadow moved at a slow pace looking down at the floor before he spoke to Maria. 

"I…I'm sorry for being so rude to you Maria." he apologized. 

"It's ok Shadow." Maria answered. "I understand that you really want to go outside and couldn't wait." 

The young girl noticed that Shadow still hung his head. She patted him gently on top of his head grabbing his attention. As he looked up, Maria smiled at him with a small giggle lifting the hedgehog's spirits a bit. He smiled as well and began to pick up the pace down the hallway. 

"Come on!" Shadow said in a lighter tone as he went into a jog. "The sun's not going to wait on us." 

Maria laughed a bit before she ran after her friend. They made their way down the various hallways passing a few other residents and then to the elevator that would take them above ground to the institute. Maria hurried into the elevator where Shadow was waiting and the door closed slowly. As the machine ascended up the shaft Shadow felt his heartbeat rise slightly. The machine reached the ground floor of the institute and the hedgehog raced out of the elevator as the doors opened. 

"Wait up!" Maria called after her friend. 

But he didn't stop for the exit to the world outside was just ahead of him. Shadow was drawn towards the bright light like a moth to a flame; he couldn't stop himself. The glass entrance doors drew closer and closer… and finally the hedgehog broke into the light of the outside world. He was slightly blinded at first but then his eyes began to adjust to the light… his heart nearly jumped at the gorgeous sight before him. It was better than he imagined, more beautiful than he had ever dreamed of. Fresh cool air, a rich colored sky, and… buildings. Most of the buildings were small but gave the town a quaint feeling to it. 

Shadow was at a lost for words as his jaw hung open. Maria walked out of the institute and stood behind Shadow taking in a breath of fresh air. 

"Smells wonderful doesn't it?" Maria asked. 

Shadow nodded his head almost mindlessly as he observed the scenery. A few cars drove on the streets passing by the two. People walking on the sidewalks gave strange and curious looks at the hedgehog. He failed to notice their looks and just gawked at them as they walked by. Small children waved to the hedgehog with a smile and Shadow returned the greeting unconsciously. After a few seconds Shadow began to take a few steps to his right, slowly walking down the sidewalk with Maria behind him. 

He couldn't believe his eyes at the bright colors he saw. Although the sun was still rising into the sky it was high enough for Shadow to feel its warm rays shower down on his body. His eyes gazed up at the color changing sky as it began to change to the vibrant light blue he was familiar with. Suddenly a car honked its horn as it drove by frightening the hedgehog. He watched the vehicle zoom around the corner and soon began to pick up his pace. Maria chased after him following Shadow around the corner. 

"Shadow, we're not supposed to go too far from the institute!" Maria shouted to the hedgehog. 

Yet he still kept on running until he came to the intersection at the end of the block. A few people were at the crosswalk waiting to cross the street when Shadow approached the small group. Whispers and comments came from the people as the hedgehog stood among them looking at the traffic lights and cars in amazement. Maria finally reached Shadow slightly out of breath. 

"You know this is as far as we can go…" Maria informed Shadow. 

"Hmm… I want to see more." Shadow replied. 

"What?" 

"I want to see more. Where's the grass and the dirt and the ocean? I want to see everything I saw in my books." 

"Well uh…" 

The crosswalk sign changed and the small group of people began to cross the street. Shadow began to move once again with Maria close by. 

"I believe there's a park area just ahead of us Shadow." Maria called out to her friend who was slowly pulling away from her. 

The two were approaching another intersection and Shadow came to a halt as he gazed across the street at a brand new sight to behold. The small park Maria had mentioned stood across the street enticing Shadow to explore it. The street was clear, the path became obvious… it was the only other place Shadow wanted to see. The fresh smell of early morning grass danced across his nose; the sun's heavenly rays gave the park a peaceful appeal; the hedgehog rocked back and forth on his feet raring to enter into the dream land that awaited him. 

"It's now or never." a voice said to Shadow. 

He looked up behind him to see Maria patiently waiting for him to move. 

"We can go in or go back home… it's up to you." 

Shadow took another look at the park and then back at Maria. 

"…Let's go." he finally responded grabbing Maria's hand. 

She nodded in return and the two cautiously looked both ways down the street before crossing over into the park area. They entered into the emerald dream land and all reality seemed to escape from Shadow's mind. Slowly he detached himself from Maria stepping lightly into the park, his eyes wandering across the fields of green. Every color he saw leapt out at him and danced in his eyes to a beautiful ballet symphony. The morning songs of the birds traveled through his ears catching the hedgehog's attention. His eyes gazed up into a nearby tree were a few birds chirped to each other in a frantic yet sweet conversation. Suddenly their wings fluttered over Shadow's head as they flew off. 

The hedgehog continued onward strolling along the path with Maria quietly hanging behind him observing the hedgehog. Shadow stopped at a small garden of flowers and knelt down for a closer look. A sweet aroma unlike anything else entered into the hedgehog's nose and he exhaled heavily. He reached out to pick a flower but Maria stopped him pointing to a sign nearby. "Do not pick the flowers" the sign read. No matter, the hedgehog lightly brushed the velvet petals of the flowers and stood up to move on. 

As he continued down the path he noticed in the distance two children playing in the grass area and lying on their backs. Shadow closed his eyes remembering Maria's sensational description of the soft grass and dirt and how it felt in her hands. With no hesitation the hedgehog ran out into the grassy area and fell onto his back in a playful manner. A sigh of content came out of Shadow as the gentle and cool feel of the grass massaged his back. His fingers dug into the cushioned dirt beneath the grass lifting up a few clumps into his hands. Shadow sat up holding his hands up in front of him and felt through the soft, moist dirt. Slowly it crumbled to pieces as he felt through it and eventually Shadow dropped the remaining pieces of dirt to his side and laid in the grass. Quietly Maria joined him and laid next to the hedgehog and the two gazed up into the clear sky in silence. 

"…Can we stay here all day?" Shadow asked. 

"…Sure we can." Maria answered. 

Those were the only words conveyed between the two in the midst of the 'fantasy world' they had entered into. No words could describe the atmosphere that surrounded them for it needed no description. Peace was among the two and it was protected by the serenity of the small park. A day such as this would never be forgotten in the mind of Shadow for he began to understand why life was so precious to humans. Their ambitions were not only driven by the dreams they conveyed and the support their loved ones gave them, but also by the world around them. A world full of colors and wonders that would inspire their dreams to see it all and keep it locked in the precious memories of their mind. 

Then it all became clear to Shadow. He himself was becoming just like the humans that surrounded him. He too had dreams and ambitions to follow but there were too many to focus on… until now. A dream entered into his mind, a dream that seemed so wild and farfetched that only a human would think of such a dream. His dream was to see the world and capture it in a way that no one else would ever see it. Capture it by creating images of dramatic colors that would dance to a symphony of epic proportions. Capture the world and preserve it for all to see in… paintings! Yes painting is what he would do! If the outside world could inspire Shadow to live then perhaps he could inspire other humans that this is something worth living for in life. Yes he could inspire others… and Maria. 

She smiled because of her disease, her terminal illness that would eventually kill her. Shadow realized that Prof. Gerald would continue to grow old and eventually leave Maria behind sooner or later. Then it would be left up to him… Maria's only 'brother'. He would never become a great scientist like Gerald but perhaps a cure doesn't have to come in the form of medicine. It can come in the form of inspiration, hope, and dreams. Shadow now had another dream to fulfill… to cure Maria with his vision… his vision of the world around him.


	9. A New Twist

Before the Vision 

Chapter 9: A New Twist 

A week after Shadow's first trip to the outside world he was once again back underground with his family, but he spent the past few days taking an avid interest in artwork. He had asked Maria to bring him some art books for him to look at. Although Maria did as Shadow requested, she couldn't help but speculate what the hedgehog was up to. He spent hours each day closely examining the paintings he saw in the books and the distinct detail of each picture. When asked about his new interest Shadow simply replied 'It just seemed to interest me'. He wanted his special present for Maria and Gerald to be secret and tried to be as discrete as he could without giving away too much. 

Shadow had spent most of his morning cautiously looking through the art books picking up any ideas he could catch. Prof. Gerald was out working for most of the day leaving Shadow alone with Maria. As the hedgehog literally kept his nose in the books, Maria wandered out of her room and peered over his shoulder at the pictures. 

"What are you looking for?" Maria asked causing Shadow to jump. 

Shadow slammed the book close in a panic and turned around smiling nervously at Maria. 

"Uh… nothing, nothing at all." Shadow made up. "I just like… looking at the pictures." 

She knew Shadow was lying to her; it was pretty obvious in his voice but she decided to let it go. As Maria went back to her room Shadow let out a relieved sigh. 

"_I hope she didn't suspect anything._" the hedgehog thought to himself. 

He opened up the book once again and slowly went though the pictures one by one, picking out defining details and other features that stood out. Some of the paintings he saw were bright a colorful while others were dull solemn. Shadow was amazed at the many feelings one painting could extract and wanted to do just the same. The paintings varied from sceneries of vast field and cold bitter mountains to portraits of people and abstract shapes and objects. Ideas swarmed into his head of how he could depict the outside world on a canvas and bring it to life in one's eyes. While his ideas were stored away in the back of his mind, Shadow closed the book he had and reached for another on the coffee table. Slowly he opened it up and went through the plethora of pictures that were inside. 

The next day Shadow had woken up in the early hours of the morning. Turning on the table lamp he picked up the art book he had read yesterday and continued to look through the pictures. The hedgehog wanted to make sure that he had plenty of ideas for when he would paint a picture for Maria. Hours went by and Shadow was still on the couch deeply engrossed in the art books when Gerald and Maria sat down for breakfast. The two humans observed Shadow and were curious as to why he was so caught up in artwork all of the sudden. 

"Shadow, would you like some breakfast?" Gerald asked taking a seat at the already prepared table. 

"No thank you." Shadow replied without looking up. 

Gerald and Maria looked at each other and Gerald gave a nod to his granddaughter. Quietly Maria stood up from her seat and walked over to Shadow looking over his shoulder. This time the hedgehog did not notice here but was too busy examining a portrait in the book. 

"Shadow?" Maria said softly. 

"Yeah?" Shadow replied turning a page. 

"Perhaps you should put the book down. I know you like the pictures but maybe you should spend some time with grandfather and I." 

Slowly but cautiously Maria took the book out of Shadow's hands leaving the hedgehog staring blankly at nothing. Finally he came to his senses and glanced up at Maria with a half smile. It had just occurred to him that he was acting quite rude lately ignoring the professor and Maria, so Shadow figured it was time to get in touch with his family once more. He allowed Maria to lead him to the small round breakfast table and the two joined the professor. While Gerald and Maria ate, Shadow just picked at his food with the fork pushing it around. He wanted to talk to his family but couldn't. His mind kept wandering back to the art book still conjuring up ideas he could incorporate in his own piece of work. 

"_No. That can wait Shadow._" the hedgehog told to himself. "_Right now you need to focus on Maria and the professor…_" 

But to no avail his mind wandered freely through the pictures he saw. He figured that his portrait idea was too important to put aside. So it was settled; his small project would be priority number one. Something that had to be done before Maria's time was up. 

Before any words had been exchanged Shadow quietly excused himself from the table. 

"I just need to go out for a walk." was his reply when Gerald questioned him as to where he was going. 

After leaving his home Shadow sighed heavily and began his trek down the metal corridors of the underground area. He passed the other residents unnoticed but paid them no attention. The portrait project meant too much to the hedgehog for it to be ignored and Maria's future was an uncertain one that Shadow understood greatly. 

"_Perhaps the world from a fantasy point of view…_" he contemplated. 

But that idea didn't seem to buzz too well in his head. In and out, ideas came and went. Some great others that seemed like a dud. Yet Shadow was determined to find that idea that would astound Maria and give her wonderful dreams until her time had come. The black hedgehog wandered aimlessly throughout the underground compound, his head hung over and hands behind his back. As he walked through the hallways Shadow eventually walked into the elevator and was on the ground floor of the institute. It wasn't until he had bumped into a personnel that he had finally realized how far from home he was. 

"Uh… I'm sorry." Shadow quickly apologized. 

The man in the navy blue suit turned around and looked down upon the hedgehog. 

"Hey! You're not suppose to be up here! What's Prof. Gerald think he's doing?" the man shouted rather loudly. 

Soon other employees in the area began to look on and were talking in low voices at the sight of Shadow. The hedgehog felt a sinking feeling in his stomach suddenly and knew something terrible would happen again. 

"Security!" the man shouted. "Get this animal out of here immediately!" 

Shadow looked over his shoulder to see three officers running his way. 

"_Not again._" he thought. 

The hedgehog pushed his way past the man in the suit and ran down the hallway passing other workers as well. He wasn't too familiar with the institute's layout and just ran wherever it felt safe to him. But to no avail more and more security officers began to chase after the hedgehog. Time after time Shadow ran into dead ends and had to fight his way through the mess of officers that pursued him. In and out they went in labs, offices, and small hallways. Shadow began to panic and wanted to return home immediately. 

"_Maria!_" he thought. "_Where are you?!_" 

The hallways suddenly became obscured and twisted as a dizzy hedgehog raced through them in a wild manner. He jumped off the walls knocking people over as the whole world around him became a swirl of gray and white. Shadow had never felt his heart beat so fast in the few months of his life. There was never this much fear inside of him because of his insecurity. The hedgehog wanted to fight back but his conscience constantly reminded him of his true form; the monster that was within him leaving Shadow with the only option of running. 

After skidding around a corner the black and red hedgehog ran into a dark lab room where his fears began to fade away. His breaths were quite hard as he laid a hand on his chest and cautiously looked around the dark lab. For some reason there were cages lined up along the walls and from the looks of it animals were inside them. Shadow walked down the middle aisle between the lab tables observing the sleeping animals. 

"_What are they doing up here?_" the hedgehog asked. 

Small white bands were around the animals' paws and most of them slept silently while a few watched Shadow walk by. Just when peace finally settled down upon Shadow, the lab doors flew open with a bang! The hedgehog spun around to see a group of security guards heading towards him… his heartbeat shot up once again. Unfortunately he had no where to go this time. The lab doors were blocked off. So Shadow did the best he could to fight off the guards and still control his anger. 

Using the lab equipment in the room, Shadow attacked the guards with punches and kicks and threw the equipment at them. Cuts and bruises were made on the men but nothing seemed to stop them. As Shadow jumped down from a lab table, a guard rammed him into the cages. The sudden jolt woke the animals and sent them into a frenzy. Along with the noise of broken glass and crashing equipment, the screeches and cries of the many animals filled the room. A few of the cages fell from their place from the guard's attack on Shadow and he was held on the ground. But the hedgehog pushed the guard off and leapt away running towards the back of the lab. 

Some guards were already there waiting for Shadow and made a leap at the hedgehog. But he was too quick for the men and Shadow jumped over them and stood in the middle aisle staring menacingly at the few guards running towards him. Suddenly the leading guard pulled out a gun and fired it at Shadow. The shot echoed harshly in the room but Shadow dodged it with a racing heart. Many of the animals were now awake and squawking and scream from all of the noise. Shadow was sent into a suddenly panic not knowing what to do now. His enemies had weapons and he himself had nothing to defend with. 

As the guards reached Shadow he scrambled to his feet and leapt over the lab table slamming into a few cages against the wall. The doors on the cages flew open as they hit the door and animals began to flood out into the lab and ran around in chaos. Shadow frantically made his way back towards the entrance even though two guards were still at the door. 

"_I must make it back to Maria!_" he thought to himself. 

The hedgehog took a leap over a lab table but stopped suddenly when the guards came for him. They made grabs at the animal but he barely escaped their grasp and began to head towards the back down the middle aisle again. But to his surprise a cart full of medicines and needles had been pushed out into the middle aisle and Shadow collided with it. The two guards that were going for Shadow backed away cautiously as needles and medicines flew high into the air. The black hedgehog laid on top of the cart in pain from the collision as the needles came back down. Thankfully most of the sharp object missed Shadow but one needle full of a red liquid pierced his arm. The red liquid inside slowly seeped into the hedgehog's body but Shadow ripped the needle out of him still leaving a few drops inside. 

He staggered to his feet facing the two guards at the entrance and prepared to charge his way through… yet for some reason everything became blurry to the hedgehog. He lost sight of the guards easily as everything in the lab clashed together in odd colors… and then his head became light and slightly painful. Shadow felt his body sway left and right but could barely do anything to control himself. His body parts became horribly numb and stiff with slight pain in his joints. Soon the hedgehog felt himself fall to the cold floor numb and unable to move. He was still conscious and could see the obscured shoes of the guards approach him… 

"_Maria…_" his mind whispered. 

…Shadow fell into darkness. 

Prof. Gerald rushed through the small hallways making his way past numerous scientists. He was heading for the rebuilt underground lab where Shadow was awakened on account of the disturbing news he had received. The old man flew into the room and urgently approached a group of scientist who were huddled around a clipboard. 

"How is he?" Gerald asked getting the group's attention. 

"He's stable sir although something isn't right about his genetic structure." the female scientist holding the clipboard informed her superior. 

Gerald snatched the clipboard from his subordinate and skimmed over the information on it. Inside the rebuilt lab were new lab tables, equipment, and desks. The capsule had been rebuilt in the center of the circular room and once again Shadow was inside unconscious in a blue liquid. An air mask was over his mouth and nose and he floated motionless inside the capsule with numerous scientist rushing about inside the lab. It had only been a day since Shadow's unfortunate accident in the institute above ground. Gerald was informed about it around noon time and immediately went to work on the situation leaving Maria alone. The old professor had stayed awake through the night gathering up as much info as could and dealing with complaints from employees from above ground. But Maria was completely unaware of the situation yet she knew in her heart something had gone wrong with Shadow again. 

After Gerald had gone through all of the papers on the clipboard he gazed up at Shadow floating silently inside the capsule. 

"Has there been any drastic changes in his body?" Gerald asked. 

"Well his body temperature has been dropping gradually by the hour." the female scientist replied. "We've done all that we could to raise it but nothing's worked." 

"And his genetic structure, what have you discovered about it?" Gerald went through the papers again. 

The female scientist walked over to a table and picked up a tan folder stuffed with information papers. She took out one and handed it to Gerald. 

"Apparently something's changed in it and is slightly altering his body. This is possibly a direct result from what was injected into his arm." she replied. 

Gerald looked over the paper until his eyebrow shot up. 

"What the…?!" he exclaimed. "Can this be true?" 

"Yes. The substance in the needle may have had some chemicals in it to cause this reaction." 

A grim expression fell upon the professor's face as he shook his head. 

"_Shadow…_" he thought. 

Suddenly an alarm went off from one of the many computers in the room. 

"Brain activity has been detected!" a scientist said urgently looking up from the computer screen. "He's awakening!" 

Slowly the other scientists began to scramble to their stations to record any data but Gerald silently approached the capsule looking up at his creation. Shadow's left hand stirred and then his eyes began to open slowly. Everything was slightly hazy to the hedgehog but it all became clear to him in just seconds. Slowly he looked around at the few scientists who were staring at him and then to Gerald standing right in front of the hedgehog. 

"…Professor…" Shadow said weakly. 

"Shadow…" Gerald replied in a soft voice. 

"What happened? Why is it so cold?" 

Gerald wanted to speak but couldn't bring himself around. He lowered his head placing a hand over his eyes and took in a deep breath. Building up strength inside of himself Gerald looked back up at Shadow, a feeling of sorrow was hidden behind his hazy glasses. 

"Shadow… it pains me to tell you this but… you…" 

Gerald suddenly became unable to speak but the hedgehog painfully raised a hand against the glass. 

"What is it?" he asked. 

"Your genetic structure… it shows drastic changes have been made." Gerald finally said. 

"Like what?" 

"Your body temperature has dropped for one thing. We don't seem to have any control over it though but we do know that what was injected to you by accident is what's causing these changes." 

"…What's happening to me then?" 

"So far Shadow all we can say is that you're changing. What you will become is something my colleagues may not be so sure about… but I may have a clue." 

Shadow was silent. He obviously wanted Gerald to continue on. 

"This paper here says that blood from a vampire bat was injected into you. There were extra chemicals added to the blood, perhaps from a previous experiment, but that may be the cause of all of this. Shadow, you may be turning into a vampire of the sorts even though it sounds farfetched." 

"A vampire?" Shadow echoed. 

He remembered reading a few horror stories of monsters and such. One in particular of a vampire that sucked blood from it's victims but Shadow knew that such things never existed. But he was still slightly shocked that he was becoming one. It was by the blood of a vampire bat, a creature that did exist but did not 'suck blood' in the sense of a real vampire. It was all too confusing to the hedgehog… but then it began to make sense. His powers. His powers could also be contributing to this transformation and only fortified the hedgehog's justification that they truly were a curse unto his life. 

"There probably is no cure to reverse these effects Shadow even if we were to work on one for years." Gerald said sadly. 

"That's ok professor…" Shadow replied looking away. 

Gerald curiously gazed at Shadow adjusting his glasses. 

"I've survived enough trauma these past few months… one more situation wouldn't make a difference… I just wish to see Maria now." 

Gerald nodded silently and handed the clipboard and paper to his female colleague and left the lab. Moments later he and Maria were walking silently down the hallway leading to the main lab. Upon entering Gerald requested the other scientists left the room for a few moments. They did so and the lab was cleared out in a matter of seconds. Maria stared up at Shadow in the capsule with heartbroken eyes. Apparently her friend had gone back to sleep or seemed to be asleep inside the capsule. 

"Shadow?" she asked gently. 

The hedgehog opened his eyes up and let out a relieved sigh at the sight of his comforter. 

"Maria…" Shadow placed his hands on the capsule. 

"What happened?" the girl asked. 

"I'm changing Maria… changing into something unspeakable…" 

Gerald had placed a chair behind Maria and his granddaughter sat down ready to listen intently to Shadow's words. 

A week later Shadow had finally been released from the capsule. As the hedgehog left the lab with the professor, a few of the residents they past whispered among themselves the gossip they heard about Shadow. But he completely ignored them expecting the humans to do such a thing. Once again he longed to be in the comfort of his home resting in the arms of Maria, his sister. But other than seeking for condolences Shadow was also worried if he would ever start on his portrait for Maria. His chances were beginning to look grim but tried to keep in mind that there was always a way out in every dire situation. 

Upon entering the home Maria walked out of her room expecting Shadow to run to her arms, but he didn't. Instead the hedgehog sulked over to the couch and fell onto it face first. Gerald looked at his granddaughter who gave him a questioning look. 

"I must return to work. I'll be back this evening." Gerald announced as he left. 

The metal door closed and Maria approached Shadow and lightly gave him a nudge. 

"Shadow?" she asked. 

The hedgehog muttered under his breath as a reply. Maria carefully lifted his body and sat down on the couch placing Shadow over her lap. She heard the hedgehog sigh loudly and then he turned his head to the side facing the coffee table. 

"You're getting cold…" Maria said running a hand over his head. 

"It's one of the changes." Shadow replied nonchalantly. 

"Anything else you've noticed?" 

"No… the professor said it may take a few months for changes to happen." 

Maria gave no reply but proceeded to pat Shadow lightly on his back. He sighed contentedly and closed his eyes hoping to fall asleep. 

"Grandfather said that we may go to our summer house in a few months." Maria mentioned. 

"What about everyone in the institute above ground? Aren't they mad?" Shadow asked. 

"The owner said he would let grandfather off the hook this time. Those needles that you ran into shouldn't have been left out in the open so carelessly so he's not blaming us for your mishap." 

"I see…" 

"Well at least he thinks of you as a living creature unlike most of the people here." 

"I guess that's ok…" 

Shadow suddenly had a light feeling in his heart. A human who saw him as one of them and not just a threat to everyone. Perhaps there were a few good folks in the outside world… perhaps. 

"Where is this summer house?" Shadow asked getting back to Maria's comment. 

"It's in a town a few miles from here. It's actually quite peaceful. It's surrounded by a small forest and in a small quiet town. Grandfather always took me there every summer as a child. I would play with the kids who came by even though I really didn't become good friends with them. Anyways I'm sure you'll love it there." Maria explained. 

To be away from the busy city and in a small town? To be away from the compound and institute and in a quiet house instead? It was the perfect place for Shadow to be… a perfect place to live in fact. No worries, no enemies. Just spending the days resting peacefully in a quiet house and enjoying some time spent with his small family. This lifted Shadow's spirits greatly and also meant that he might even have a chance to start on his portrait for Maria. The hedgehog sat up and gave Maria a light hug. She in return wrapped his arms around him smiling lightly. 

"I'm looking forward to this vacation." Shadow said in a lighter tone. 

Maria could only smile for Shadow was beginning to forget about his troubles. Whenever she comforted Shadow it not only lifted the hedgehog's spirits but also hers as well. She hated seeing anyone she loved in pain and would do whatever she could to cheer them up despite her condition. It was her way of saying to them, "If I can be strong in my illness, you can be even stronger in your good health." Words that could only come from a courageous girl with a caring heart. 


	10. Peace At Last

Before the Vision 

Chapter 10: Peace At Last

The spring months flew by quickly and Shadow continued to change from the inside out. The first thing that was most evident was his body heat dropping dramatically. The hedgehog found it difficult to get a restful sleep for he constantly shivered. Not even turning up the heat in the household could warm up Shadow, so he slept on the couch curled up in loneliness. After a while he also became acute to any bright lights becoming nearly blinded by them. Gerald had special shades covering all of the lights in their home so Shadow would be comfortable. But the hedgehog only felt as if he was becoming a burden on his small family. He appreciated their efforts to make him comfortable but it still weighed him down that they had to degrade themselves in such a way. 

"Don't worry Shadow. Grandfather and I don't mind it at all." Maria said to him once yet Shadow still didn't want to burden them. 

His appetite had almost completely disappeared as Shadow found most meals unappealing to him. So he aided Maria in making the meals instead just so he could feel useful. Unlike most of the other residents who were able to catch a glimpse of Shadow, Gerald and Maria didn't seem to notice the changes in the black hedgehog. Some of his light colored skin had become faded but that didn't stop the two from loving Shadow completely. Besides the apparent changes the hedgehog was going through, he still kept his secret project in the back of his mind. 

It was late May and the hedgehog had some ideas as to what he could paint for Maria… but no materials to start. Shadow knew he needed money to go out and get what he needed but how to get the money was a problem. If he asked Gerald the professor would probably have Maria go with Shadow above ground. If Maria was the one in question she would be curious as to why Shadow needed the money. Another roadblock to get by. 

He laid across the couch sighing heavily as he contemplated a solution, yet nothing came to mind. He glanced over at the grandfather clock slowly ticking the time away. The face read 5:37 in the afternoon; Maria would return soon with groceries to make dinner. Giving in to his empty thoughts, Shadow decided to put off his project once more. He would never get it done with the drastic changes his life had taken in the past few months. There was even more doubt as to if he would ever finish it. For all the hedgehog could know he could transform into his monstrous form again and destroy all of his hard work. So why take the risk? 

5:45 the clock read a few minutes later; Shadow stood up and went for the front door just to take a small stroll down the hallway and back. As he approached the metal door, it automatically opened up and Maria was on the other side with a bag of groceries in her arms. 

"Oh! Hi Shadow." Maria greeted her friend. "Were you about to go somewhere?" 

"Um… no." Shadow looked down at the floor. 

"Well in that case I guess you can help me make dinner." Maria entered into the home and placed the grocery bag on the countertop. 

"Oh, you can bring it in!" she called outside of the front door. 

Shadow quickly stepped aside as a teenage boy, about Maria's age, entered carrying a large brown box. The box made a light thud noise as he set it down in the living room area. 

"_Something heavy must be inside…_" Shadow assumed. 

"Thanks for your help." Maria said to the boy before he left. 

The metal door closed with a hiss leaving Shadow staring blankly at the box. 

"Open it." Shadow spun around and looked at Maria. "Open it Shadow. It's for you." 

A surprise? Although surprises were nothing new to the hedgehog, something of this size was perhaps more than what he was used to. Nevertheless Shadow knelt down to open the present just to show that he appreciated Maria's efforts to brighten his spirits. Without any sharp tools, Shadow ripped away the tape and opened up the box… his spirits suddenly became as bright as the sun. Inside the brown box laid many paint brushes, a variety of paint colors in several bottles and four canvases. There was also an instruction booklet on painting basics although Shadow may not even use it because of his excellent learning ability. Yet everything he wanted, everything he wished and hoped for was all there in front of him… and then his vision returned. His vision of the world outside flowed back into his mind like the rushing white waters of a grand river. 

Immediately Shadow felt compelled to work effortlessly for the rest of the day and deep into the night. He wanted to begin on his project and get it done quickly. He wanted to show Maria the astounding vision his mind and imagination created in their collaboration. He wanted to show that he was just as equal as any other humans and wasn't just some beast. He wanted to show everyone that Shadow the Hedgehog was just like them. 

The hedgehog proceeded to take out the paint brushes but then Maria stopped him. 

"Not yet Shadow." she said to him with a smile. "Those are for when we go on our vacation to the summer house." 

"Oh right!" Shadow had almost forgotten about that. 

So he'd get to work in secret? Everything was suddenly going his way as if some unsaid prayer was answered. Peace and relaxation would finally be in his grasps… and all because of an anonymous caring deed done by Maria. Carefully he placed the brushes back into the brown box and closed it up. Feeling slightly better now with his surprise present, Shadow happily agreed to help Maria with dinner preparations. 

A few weeks later the family found themselves preparing to leave for their vacation. Maria and Gerald already had their luggage packed and ready by the front door. Shadow was busy looking through his new art supplies when Gerald entered into the home. He was dressed in some light casual clothes but still had on his thick, dark glasses. 

"Maria, Shadow!" he called out upon entering. 

Shadow looked up from his art supplies and Maria exited out of her room dressed in a blue t-shirt and white shorts. 

"The car is ready out in front of the institute with one of my friends. We better get our luggage above ground quickly so traffic doesn't back up." Gerald explained. 

"Sure thing grandfather. Just let me pack some more things into my handbag." Maria replied before going back into her room. 

Silently Shadow carefully placed his art supplies back into the box and sealed it up. Gerald offered to help Shadow with the box but the hedgehog kindly turned down the offer. He easily picked up the box and even one of Maria's suitcases and exited the home with ease. 

"_Hmm… his strength is increasing rapidly._" Gerald thought to himself. 

Moments later the family had packed all of their luggage into the trunk and some into the back seat of the car. As Gerald said goodbye to his helping friend leaving him a few instructions, Maria was already in the front passenger seat waiting patiently. Shadow climbed into the back seat next to his box of art supplies and waited silently as well. A few cars passed by before Maria looked back at Shadow with a warm smile on her face. 

"Ready for our vacation?" she asked. 

"Yeah." Shadow replied calmly. "I'm really looking forward to seeing this summer house. How long will it take us to get there?" 

"Well…" Maria looked down at her watch. "It's almost 10 AM so I'd say it take about three hours to get there. I'm sure grandfather will make few rest stops on the way." 

Shadow nodded in reply and sighed trying to relax for the trip. He was glad to finally have a chance to get away from the institute and see what the real world was like. Perhaps the people would be nicer and more acceptable to the hedgehog's abilities. Maybe the town would embrace him and treat him equally instead of like an outcast. Whatever the conditions of the town were, Shadow felt deep in his heart that they would be much better than the institute. Just then Gerald climbed into the car and started it up. He and Maria waved goodbye to Gerald's friend and even Shadow was able to wave his hand lightly and the helpful human. The car eased into the flow of traffic and the family was off to their summer house. 

Slowly Shadow's hand rested on his chest. Shadow's heart was beating rapidly from the sheer excitement of the trip even though it had just begun. But what captivated him even more was the thought of actually working on his special surprise for Maria. 

"_Maybe I'll find some inspiration out there…_" the hedgehog thought quietly to himself. 

The city they were in wasn't exactly a big or major city but was very busy nonetheless. Shadow figured that once they were outside of the city they would travel through some rural areas. Maria did say that the town the summer house was in was a small town, so it'd make sense for it to be located in a rural region. That way Shadow would not only have inspiration from the city, but also from the country as well. Ideas in his mind began to race around in bright flashing colors forming different pictures but none that satisfied the hedgehog. 

Soon the car pulled onto the main freeway that cut through the small city and the Robotnik family was on the road to their destination. Maria and Gerald had started up a light conversation but Shadow sat quietly in the back seat deep in thought. He still couldn't figure out the best painting for Maria and tried his hardest to conjure a unique painting in his mind. Ideas came in but were quickly thrown out either because of their lack of creativity, color, or just a dull impression. This was perhaps the most thinking the hedgehog had ever done in his short life of six months. Shadow knew how smart he was and also understood the idea of reaching one's potential. There would always be something new to discover and the learning process would never end. Therefore Shadow saw no reason to give up; no reason to throw away his dreams; no reason for not being able to repay Maria for what she had done for him so far. Without any realization, the hedgehog rested his head on his hand and stared blankly ahead of him still in his brainstorming process. A country field? No. A city covered by nature? No. His darkest fear? No! Was there anything that would be suitable as a present for Maria? 

"Don't you think so too Shadow?" a soft voice disrupted his thoughts. 

Shadow snapped back into reality, his heart jumping from the shock. 

"What did you say?" he asked Maria. 

"Don't you think grandfather worries too much about me? I don't need a bodyguard to follow me everywhere." the girl repeated grinning at her grandfather. 

"Oh don't you go and exaggerate again Maria." Gerald interrupted playfully. "I'm just saying that when I'm gone you might need someone to live with you as an aide. I just don't see why you youngsters always think that us old folks are senile." 

"Grandfather!" Maria laughed out. "I never said that you were senile. Just… overprotective of me." 

"Oh I see. I suppose your generation sees that as a hindrance to your spirit of exploration. Heh heh, well just be patient dear. You'll get to travel to wherever you want someday." 

The conversation between the two continued on with Shadow looking on silently. He had seen Gerald and Maria share enjoyable moments such as this but it was never as open and free because of the professor's busy schedule. But with the institute far behind them, the bond between Gerald and Maria bloomed in the manner of the first cherry blossom of the spring season. Out here it was easily seen that the relationship between the blood relatives was both personal and friendly and left a feeling deep within Shadow that made him proud to be apart of the closely bonded family. Even if it was just he, his father Gerald, and his sister Maria. 


	11. Shadow the Hero

Before the Vision 

Chapter 11: Shadow the Hero

It was after lunchtime somewhere in the 1 o'clock hour when the Robotnik family finally arrived at their small town destination. They drove down the main street of the town at an easy pace. Shadow looked out of his window at the drastically different setting and was quite amazed at how different the small town was compared to the mediocre city. Simple shops were neatly lined up along the streets and people walked about greeting each other as they went off to their destination. The pace of the town felt slower than that of the city and already Shadow could tell that he was going to like it here. 

"Oh look!" Maria shouted excitedly. "There's the ice cream store just the way that I remembered it." 

Shadow observed the ice cream store as they drove by. It was crowded with teenagers outside who looked to be somewhere near Maria's age. 

"Their ice cream was the best I ever tasted Shadow." Maria commented. "Maybe I'll take you there once we're finished unpacking." 

"Perhaps you could show him around town a bit Maria." the professor added. "It's still the early afternoon and I can unpack your luggage for you." 

"Oh thank you grandfather! That means more time for us right Shadow?" 

The black hedgehog looked at Maria and smiled lightly with a nod. Once again he was feeling eager to be with Maria with no distractions or worries. Calmly he lounged back in the seat sighing with ease as the soothing atmosphere overcame him. Finally Shadow was at peace and had a new start in a place where he could renew his spirits. Since the family was going to stay there for the entire summer, hopefully the residents the in the underground compound at home would forget about the hedgehog or his attacks. Or perhaps the family would be able to stay in the small town forever. Quite a dream for the hedgehog… 

Gerald turned off of the main road and into the housing area of the town. But they only passed by as the car continued on towards a small forest area. As Gerald turned onto a dirt road, Shadow could make out the rooftop of a large old house among the trees. The dirt road slowly winded towards the front of the house where a large metal gate stood closed up. Gerald pressed a button on the remote clipped to the sun visor over his head and the gates slowly opened inward. The car pulled into the yard of the large Victorian house and parked in a dirt area off to the side. 

"This is it Shadow." Maria announced. "Our summer house. It's been in the family for a couple of generations." 

Shadow somehow completely ignored what Maria had said and climbed out of the car awestruck. His neck tilted up as he gazed at the house from the ground to its roof. The gray color was slightly faded and the wood was chipped in a few places here and there but the house stood strong with its sturdy foundation. The luggage was being unloaded from the car as the hedgehog continued to gape at the behemoth structure. Maria and Gerald laughed under their breath silently at Shadow's innate curiosity. 

"Shadow," Gerald called out gently. "Could you help us carry the luggage inside?" 

"Certainly professor." Shadow replied and he picked up a few suitcases and headed towards the porch with Maria 

The young girl opened up the front door and stepped into the house with Shadow trailing behind. A strange and yet calming smell hit Shadow's face like a cool breeze. The furnishings and wooden floor looked brand new and clean. A few boards in the floor creaked as the luggage was set down. Maria herself slowly danced around the foyer, her face glowing with excitement and a small giggle coming from her. 

"This place brings back so many memories for me…" Maria said to no one in particular. "When I fell down the steps here… when grandfather would read books to me over here in the living room… when we almost started a fire in the kitchen down the hall. I would even bring a few kids from the neighborhood here as well." 

Although Shadow didn't quite understand what Maria was talking about, he respectfully smiled at her and followed Maria up the stairs. The upstairs hallway divided off into three ways: off to their left, a short hallway ahead of them, and off to their right. Maria turned left and entered into the first door on her left, followed closely by Shadow. It just so happened to be her bedroom colored with white and peach furnishings all over, although it was slightly dark because of the closed curtains on the window. Her canopy bed was off to the side of the room next to wall and facing the single window in Maria's room. A small desk was off to the left of the window and against the adjacent wall was her dresser and a round mirror perched on top of it. A white circular carpet was spread out between the dresser and the bed, and in the corner off to the window's right was a healthy floor plant. Most of the furnishing were white with a few peach colorings here and there, but the walls were entirely peach and blended in beautifully with the rest of the room. 

Maria toss her handbag onto the bed and dropped her suitcase in front of it. Shadow stood silently at the door still taking in the gorgeous colors of the room. 

"Doesn't this place make you want to relax Shadow?" Maria asked stretching her arms. 

"It is… soothing." Shadow replied slowly stepping into the room. 

Maria let out a small giggle as Shadow placed the rest of Maria's luggage near her bed. The young girl looked around the room and then at her window gasping as if she had remembered something. 

"Oh you must see the view Shadow!" Maria rushed over to the window. "There may be a lot of trees outside but it's beautiful in the morning." 

She flew back the curtains letting in the intense daylight but suddenly heard a loud, disturbing hiss come from behind her. Maria spun around to see Shadow stumbling into the closet doors near the bedroom door. He covered his eyes with one arm and turned away from the window crouching into the corner. Remembering Shadow's condition, Maria quickly closed up the curtains and rushed to Shadow's side. 

"I'm so sorry about that. I almost forgot how sensitive you were to light." Maria placed her hands on the hedgehog's shoulder. 

"It's ok." Shadow answered rubbing his eyes. "It was just a mistake." 

"Oh… but you were fine on the way here and outside. What happened?" 

"…Well… it's been going in and out lately… the whole light sensitivity." Shadow finally opened his eyes to the soothing darkness. "Sometimes it bothers me and other times it doesn't. But I'm not sure about it at all." 

"Hmm… maybe I can get one of grandfather's friends in town to make you some special glasses to wear outside." 

Shadow's hands fell to the floor and his eyes did as well. Once again he was becoming a burden to his family by accident and felt uneasy about Maria's request. He wasn't sure how to turn down Maria's request… or if he wanted to at all. His only reply to Maria was a silent departure from her room leaving the girl baffled at his silence. 

The black hedgehog walked to the top of the stairs but immediately covered his eyes once again. The front door had been left open and Shadow could barely see down into the foyer. Footsteps were heard coming into the house and then some loud thuds as suitcases were being dropped to the floor. The front door was finally closed and Shadow opened his eyes to see Prof. Gerald at the bottom of the staircase. 

"So what do you think Shadow?" Gerald asked kindly. 

Too deep into his shameful emotions, Shadow replied again with silence and walked down the steps passing by Gerald and heading down the narrow hallway leading to the kitchen. Gerald was just stumped by Shadow's somewhat depressed attitude and was about to go after the hedgehog. Just then Maria appeared at the top of the stairs. 

"Maria…?" Gerald asked his granddaughter. 

She knew what the old scientist was questioning. 

"It's his powers grandfather." Maria answered. "He's extremely sensitive to light now… he may be feeling upset about it." 

Maria slowly descended the stairs while Gerald contemplated a solution. 

"He may need special glasses to protect his eyes…" Gerald suggested. 

"But I already asked him. He didn't seem too happy with it." Maria said. 

"Well I'm going have some made for him whether he likes it or not. Under no circumstances will I allow Shadow to hold himself back from doing anything because of his handicap. He has to learn that even physical disabilities shouldn't keep someone from living a fulfilling life." 

The fair-skinned girl beamed at her grandfather for his willpower. 

"Where did you get an idea like that?" she asked out of curiosity. 

"Why from you of course." Gerald replied with his gentle smile. "Now, help me get these suitcases to my room. Then I'll go into town and speak with the optometrist." 

As the two carried the rest of the luggage upstairs, Shadow had overheard the entire conversation from around the corner of the narrow hallway. As the footsteps faded upstairs, the hedgehog sighed bowing his head in dismay. 

"Why…?" he silently asked. 

The rest of the day was remotely quiet in the summer house. Shadow had found himself a comfortable chair in the darkest corner of the living room where he spent hours reading a novel from the book shelf. Gerald had made his promised trip into town for an hour or so. As for Maria, she made dinner that night for herself and Gerald with Shadow still reading the novel by then. 

The next day, Maria woke up late in the morning only to find her grandfather had gone out. 

"_He must have gone into town to get Shadow's glasses._" she thought. 

With her night robe on, she quietly walked downstairs and into the living where Shadow had stayed all night. Maria approached the large armchair the hedgehog was in and peeked around it but immediately became frightened at what she saw. Shadow sat in the chair slouched with his head lazily tilted to his left. His eyes stared blankly into nothing almost as if he was dead. Gently the girl shook Shadow to see if he was ok. 

"Sh-Shadow?" Maria asked with a quivered voice. "Are you—? 

"I'm fine." the hedgehog answered firmly startling the girl. 

"Oh… You gave me a scare there for a second." Maria knelt down breathing in relief. 

Shadow turned his head toward Maria and stared her down with his emotionless eyes. Maria was a bit confused and was about to ask a question but the hedgehog finally spoke. 

"You didn't have to…" Shadow said bitterly. 

Maria was lost for a second but suddenly realized what he was talking about. 

"I know but grandfather said that he didn't want you to be handicapped by your… changes. You know how stubborn he can get sometimes." 

Shadow merely scoffed turning away and focused on the wall in front of him. 

"Shadow, I think you should be a little more generous and accepting that grandfather's gone out of his way to do this for you! I know it's not the first time!" 

"Of course it isn't!" Shadow retorted. "I know I should be more accepting of the professor's generosity but… but… I didn't want to be reminded of… you know…" 

The hedgehog closed his eyes and hung his head as he sat up strait in the chair. Maria placed her hand on his yet he pulled it away gently. 

"I wanted to come here in hopes of getting away from everything… but I keep forgetting that **I am** everything I want to forget. Then it all comes back when a new power is discovered and… it all goes downhill from there." the stressed hedgehog buried his face in his hands and Maria patted him gently on his back. 

"…There are some things we have to learn how to live with. Unfortunately you can't adjust to anything that happens to you because you're changing almost every second." Maria stood up. "It… it may seem out of control but you do have control over one thing…" 

Shadow looked up at Maria with hope in his eyes for some revealing answer. 

"You can control how you react to those changes." she finally answered. 

"How I… react?" the hedgehog wasn't too clear on the answer. 

"You can be positive and accept it as a blessing or be negative and accept it as a curse." 

Then teenager sighed lightly and looked towards the two large windows at the other end of the living room. The birds could be heard chirping outside from the tree in the front yard. The morning sun's rays showered through the leaves in scattered pieces, slowly creeping upon the front side of the house. Maria herself could feel the summer's gentle atmosphere within her and took a few steps towards the center of the living room. It was mornings like this that Maria used as fuel for her kind spirit. Even with her terminal illness, she never saw it as a burden on her life but as a tool to help inspire others including Shadow. All she need were the words that would change his self-image… words that would open up his mind… words that would speak to him… a short silence fell upon the room… 

"A long time ago… when I learned about my illness as a child, I didn't quite understand it. Yet I didn't let that stop me from being who I was… a kind, gentle person. Even when grandfather told me that I would die from my illness, that couldn't stop me at all." Maria turned to Shadow. "You see, I never saw the illness as a burden, but as my tool to help others understand the blessings of a handicap… no matter what it does to your body physically. That's what you need to understand Shadow; that your changes and powers don't have to be curses but blessings to others in need. I don't know how you'll use them… but it's your decision to use them as a blessing or see them as a curse." 

…The air had gone still. The birds chirping had stop and the morning sun's rays began to creep into the living room as the sun rose higher. Shadow had sat back into his chair, his hands clasped together and his head resting on them. There was some truth to what Maria said… but was it the truth that Shadow was looking for? The truth that would brighten his murky vision of the world? His powers as a blessing… his powers as a curse… The hedgehog closed his eyes and began to make mental connections of everything that had happened to him. His transformations, the freak accident. They all added up to something but what? 

…Perhaps it wasn't all of the terrible times… maybe it was what he learned from each incident. They could be clues that added up to some relevant truth that Shadow had to figure out. Clues that weren't clues… but tests. Yes! Challenges that would test his will, his confidence, and his own self-image or how he saw himself. Yes, that was it! The first transformation tested his will… yet it was weak and he failed to control his emotions, so his will grew. The second transformation tested Shadow's confidence that he could trust himself to keep a promise to Maria. It was a struggle but it grew from that struggle. Shadow's final test, his accident with the vampire bat chemicals, tested his self-image… yet he failed for he saw himself as a true monster and burden upon his family. 

Now that the challenges are over, the real challenge was the path Shadow had before him. A path to a brighter future and a path back into the shadows of his self-pity. He wanted a change to happen in his life, he was ready for it. And now that the defining moment had arrived, Shadow had to make a choice: becoming a blessing or curse his own abilities. 

…A breeze flowed by outside. 

Maria and her hedgehog 'brother' stood together, hand in hand, with beaming smiles on their faces. 

"Ready to make some changes?" Maria asked. 

"I'm ready… I'm ready to start over again and do things right this time." Shadow answered. 

The two left the living room and entered into the kitchen where they proceeded to make breakfast for Maria until Gerald returned. Most of the day had gone by when Gerald returned around noon . The front door opened and closed with its loud creaking noise. Laughter came from the game room that was across the hall from the living room and Gerald looked in to see Shadow and Maria playing a game of checkers. 

"Ha! King me!" Maria shouted slamming her red piece down on Shadow's end. 

The hedgehog gracefully placed another red chip on top of Maria's but scoffed lightly. 

"You'll never beat me with that anyways." Shadow said holding his nose up. "I have four kings on the board!" 

Maria just smirked and then made her move. In four consecutive jumps, she had overpowered all of Shadow's kings that were coincidentally lined up in the perfect position for Maria. The hedgehog's jaw dropped open as Maria took his last pieces off the board with her familiar smile. 

"…Well… I… good game." Shadow said turning away in embarrassment. 

"Oh it's ok Shadow." Maria said with sympathy. "I'm sure you'll get me next time." 

"Oh there **will** be a next time." 

Just then Gerald cleared his throat and stood at the doorway to the game room. The two players looked up from the board in Gerald's direction. 

"You're back!" Maria shouted standing up. "What took you so long?" 

"Well I had to make a few errands here and there before I got the glasses but… here they are." Gerald said taking out a box he had in his bag. 

Shadow took the box and sat back at the game table to open it up. The hedgehog tore away at the tape and packaging and inside were a pair of black shades made specifically for Shadow. He tried them on and they were a perfect fit for him. Not too tight, not too big, and provided excellent protection from the bright light outside. 

"Let's test them outside." Shadow said hopping out of his chair. 

Quickly the hedgehog rushed past Maria and Gerald and opened up the front door. The blinding afternoon light shone into foyer of the house as Shadow stood staring outside with his shades on. He shut his eyes as the light touched his face but slowly opened them realizing that the light did not hurt him at all. He could clearly see outside, though through foggy glasses, and took in every piece of scenery that was before him. Slowly the short creature stepped out onto the shaded veranda and gazed around the front yard. Gerald and Maria stood at the front door with big smiles over Shadow's newfound confidence in himself. It was clear to Maria that Shadow was ready to start his new life and wouldn't allow anyone or anything to get in his way. 

The hedgehog turned back towards his family. An expression of adventure was on his face. 

"Let's go into town Maria." Shadow said to his 'sister'. 

"Now? Well… ok!" Maria answered happily. "May we grandfather?" 

Gerald nodded silently and immediately the two were off running across the front yard towards the entrance gates. They exited through a small side gate that was off to the right of the larger gates and the two only quickened their pace down the dirt road. Gerald laughed quietly to himself before going back into the house. 

"Follow me Shadow!" Maria shouted pulling ahead of the hedgehog. "We can take a shortcut into town!" 

She ran off into a small narrow path that ran through the forest and came out near the residential area they had passed by yesterday. Slowly Maria began to slow down almost out of breath and she and Shadow walked the rest of the way towards the main street of the town. Moments later the two were walking down the busy street of the small town. Many of the residents were hustling about going in and out of stores, talking to each other, or just taking a stroll on the hot summer day. Most of them seemed to have noticed Shadow for they stared at him as they passed by. Even people across the street couldn't help but notice, but the hedgehog had enough willpower to not worry about what the people thought of him. Maria also noticed Shadow's attitude towards the stares and remained silent feeling proud for his behavior. 

The local ice cream shop soon came into view and a plethora of teenagers and kids were hanging around outside of it. A videogame arcade was next to the ice cream shop which also drew a number of young people to it as well. 

"Hey! Let's go to the ice cream shop. Maybe we'll see someone I know." Maria proposed. 

"Um…" Shadow swallowed hard feeling a bit scared of the sudden confrontation. 

"Don't worry Shadow. I'll be right here next to you so you won't feel alone ok?" 

Slowly but nervously the hedgehog nodded his head. Before he knew it, they were crossing the street and walking towards the group of teenagers. Shadow could feel small beads of sweat running down the side of his face. It would be his first personal encounter with other humans ever since they left the institute. As the two approach the small group, a few of the teenagers noticed Shadow and pointed towards him whispering comments to each other. Shadow's pace immediately dropped to a slower rate but Maria grabbed onto his hand towing the hedgehog with her. 

Some of the girls recognized Maria and waved a friendly 'hello' to her. Maria returned the greeting and approached the group with Shadow hiding behind her. 

"Hey Maria!" a brunette haired girl said hugging Maria. "It's been so long since I last saw you. What happened?" 

"Well grandfather spent that last few years working on an experiment, Carol." Maria replied. 

"Is that it behind you?" a tall red haired boy asked pointing to Shadow. 

Maria looked down behind her and slowly pulled Shadow to her side despite his silent protests. 

"Everyone, I'd like for you to meet Shadow." Maria said happily to the teenagers. "He's the results of grandfather's research." 

Almost immediately everyone crowded around the two to get a better look at the hedgehog. Some of the kids reached out to touch the hedgehog while others were left in awe. 

"He's so cool!" 

"Can he speak?" 

"What does he like to eat?" 

So many questions were asked almost embarrassing the hedgehog as he turned red in the face. Maria just smiled and knelt down to Shadow's level to whisper into his ear. 

"Just say 'hi' to them." she whispered into his ear. 

As Maria moved away from Shadow, she hushed the others and they fell silent. The spotlight was finally on Shadow. His heart pounded within his chest as he tried to calm himself down. So many bright faces stared at him eagerly but what could he say? As Shadow gazed around at the young faces, he finally saw Maria's face and felt a sudden boost of confidence in him. He was determined to make a new start in the small town and decided that it was now or never. 

"…H-hello…" Shadow said quietly to the group. 

A burst of excitement and awe came from the teenagers as they made comments about Shadow and reached out to shake his hand. Feeling better about the positive response, Shadow shook a few hands with the teenagers as more questions were asked of him. Maria simply smiled as her friends accepted the hedgehog and felt a hand fall onto her shoulder. Maria turned to see that it was Carol. 

"Your friend looks pretty cool." she commented. "Can he do anything special?" 

Maria opened up her mouth to speak but a sudden and loud boom came from across the street immediately grabbing everyone's attention. An auto shop was across the street and from the looks of it, the lift a car was on had gave way and the car fell onto one of the employees. There was a sudden shock and fear from spectators all around as people began to shout 'Help him!' and other urgent phrases. But Shadow saw a sudden opportunity to use his powers for a better cause. 

…The hedgehog was gone in a burst of speed. 

In the blink of an eye Shadow had took off across the street, cars screeching to a halt almost hitting the hedgehog. He then skidded to a stop near the accident and ordered away the men who were trying to lift the car. 

"Move! Now!!" he shouted. 

The other men backed away frightened of the hedgehog as he grabbed onto the bumper and, with all of his strength, attempted to lift the heavy car. Across the street at the ice cream shop, Maria had made her way to the front of the group and saw Shadow. 

"_What are you doing?_" her mind asked. 

More and more people began to stop and look on as the hedgehog slowly began to lift the car off of its rear tires. 

"Hey look!" a guy shouted. "He's really lifting the car!" 

"Shouldn't someone help?" woman asked. 

More and more comments of shock and awe came from the people all around as Shadow slowly lifted the car inch by inch. Soon the comments turned into cheers as the car was lifted higher and higher. Sweat trickled down the Shadow's face as he fought against gravity to save the injured human. He almost lost his grip on the car creating shouts of worry from the people, but the hedgehog felt the car become light as other men moved in to help. In one heave, they lifted up the car as high as they could and some other men pulled the employee from under the car. The vehicle was immediately dropped and a wave of cheers and applauds came from the large crowd of people that had formed around the auto shop. Shadow was catching his breath when suddenly the group of men that had helped lifted him into the air. 

"Here's the real hero!" one man shouted and the crowd went into a frenzy. 

Suddenly people began to crowd around trying to reach up to shake Shadow's hand. The hedgehog only felt joy within his heart as he saw all the smiles and heard all of the positive comments the people made. Across the street at the ice cream shop, the teenagers had rushed over into the crowd leaving Maria by herself. Tears fell down her face but they were tears of joy as she saw her 'brother' finally being accepted after so much turmoil in the past. 

"This is what you wanted Shadow." Maria paused to wipe a few tears away. "This is what you've always wanted… and I know you're happy that you finally found it." 


	12. Self Image

Before the Vision 

Chapter 12: Self-Image

_So here I stand… a hero, a friend, a changed er… hedgehog. Who knew this kind of fame would bring so much attention upon my family. Maria's friends from the other day are always stopping by to see me. I've been interviewed quite a few times by local news reporters for both big and small newsletters. I'm literally the talk of the town! And I love it! I was given a merit award for showcasing quick and decisive heroics even though I just lifted a car off of a person. Everyone seems to want to know about my origins… my past… but I could never bring myself about to even think about it. The professor and Maria try their hardest to keep the people from asking me such personal questions, and most of them understand and move on. I guess that's how small town life works. If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. _

_Even though it's only been two weeks since we've been here, Maria's friends were kind enough to let me into their little clique. The guys often challenge me to a few video games at the arcade and other sports, while the girls just talk about how cute I am. Heh… they sort of make me blush and feel a little embarrassed when they brag about me. Maria seems to enjoy being around others her age as well. She and her friend, Carol, had caught up with each other since Maria's last visit a few years ago. I don't see why we shouldn't live here… great friends, nice people… going back to the institute would be unreasonable! _

_As far as my powers are concerned… they've been going quite crazy every now and then. I find myself being burned rather quickly by the sun's rays, even when there's a strong breeze blowing constantly. So I don't go out everyday but some of Maria's friends come to the house to see me out of the goodness of their hearts. I've had a few discussions with the professor about my powers. He says that they're possibly unstable because my body is trying to adjust to having them which might explain why they've been going on and off lately. We also have other deep discussions about the universe expansion and other intellectual topics. Maria just sits by idly reading a small romance novel while she listens to our discussions. _

_Well that's what's been going on with me for the last few days. Right now I'm just helping Maria and Gerald out with a few chores around the house. Today's been pretty slow. Perhaps it's because of the rain outside I guess, but other than that the atmosphere is just quiet… a little too quiet for me. I'm starting to miss the hustle and bustle of Maria's friends. The jokes they would make, the games they would play with me and their somewhat meaningless conversations that didn't mean much to me but they were very passionate about them. Slowly I'm beginning to understand the mindset of teenagers. They seem to be concerned with what's happening now rather than in the future like most adults think. The human growth cycle is very intriguing. _

"Shadow, could you water that plant over there?" 

"Sure thing Maria." 

_Hmm… these plants smell beautiful. How does Maria take such good care of them when she's only here for a few months? Their leaves are a healthy shade of green and very smooth… their stems are firm and don't sway easily… just absolutely amazing! I doubt these plants need any watering but who am I to question Maria's skills? _

_… _

_There! All the plants on this side are done. Maybe I'll go and see if the professor needs any help. _

"I'm going to help the professor Maria." 

"Ok Shadow." 

_…Heh. Maria really is a sweet girl. *sigh* I really wish I could go outside and see the others. But as long as it's raining there isn't much to do around the house. _

_…Hmm. I've never noticed some of these pictures here in the hallway. …They sort of look like the professor…as a child. Wow, his family was quite huge years ago. I'm guessing most of his siblings are dead by now since he speaks very little of them. …I wonder what it would be like to have siblings like me. At least I wouldn't feel left out… _

_… _

_But then again it wouldn't make a difference. I'd still feel like an outcast even with others like me. They would probably feel the same way if they had powers like mine…maybe. _

"Professor?" 

"Yes Shadow? I'm in the basement!" 

_Please have something constructive for me to do._

"Is there anyway I can help you?" 

"Well… you could start off by packing up a few of those antique items in the corner. I'm thinking about selling them in town since they're not particularly cherished family items. 

_Packing boxes…it's not much but it'll do for now. From the looks of things around here I'd say that the professor and Maria haven't been down here for years… or at all. Well the room is pretty small… and I doubt that there's running water here with all of these stone walls. But what is it used for?_

"Professor, what is this room used for?" 

"Well it's used to store wine as you can see right over there. Of course that was when I was a child living here. My family sold wine in this town, not as a legitimate business but just as a second income since the job my father had paid very little." 

"Was it because of the size of your family?" 

"Oh! So you've seen the pictures upstairs? Well yes I was born into quite a large family. We didn't make the wine ourselves, some relatives who lived far away did. But they were gracious enough to give us a few of their wine stocks for us to sell." 

_An extended family… interesting._

"I had a somewhat rough childhood being one of the middle children in my family. I had to share many of my things with my siblings but I managed. We did whatever we could to make ends meet." 

_And I thought I had it rough…_

"Grandfather! Could come up here and help me with something?" 

"Certainly Maria. Just finish up packing the boxes for me Shadow." 

_Right. *sigh* I'll just finish packing up. …I never knew so much junk was down here. Dolls, tablecloths, other knickknacks… and a mirror. _

_… _

_Hey… I can see… myself. Look at those menacing red eyes. I look like some sort of evil villain in a fairytale. I'm so melancholy too… all black… red steaks on my spines. What kind of hedgehog am I anyways? A demonic one? It's no wonder why the people back at the institute feared me so much. I look like… a monster. An obscured hedgehog monster! Yet somehow Maria and the Gerald see past all of this and still love me for who I am. They truly must have strong hearts… _

_But what about those teenagers? What about Maria's friends? They seem to like me as well. …But they don't know who I am… they don't know the real Shadow; the one who destroys everything. …It's better if they don't. I won't have the entire world fear me just because of my true form. _

_My true form… an embarrassment! A shameful presence! A mockery of the professor's intelligence!! That… that monster causes so much pain and agony! He terrorizes everyone and cares very little of the results! It angers me to know that people simply judge the professor just on that beast alone! They don't care about his other accomplishments! They don't even care that he has a dying granddaughter! All they care about is that beast who… who... is me. _

_Me… it's me they want. They want to kill me. I just know it. Those people… back at the institute… They want to kill me, they're the ones that I am a burden upon… but they're not here. So why should I feel like some sort of burden when I'm miles from that city? I have no reason to feel that way. I'm surrounded by family and people who do like me and care for me, even though the townsfolk still are not sure about what I am exactly. In fact… I'm not even sure about what I am. I know that physically I'm a hedgehog, but what am I really? A supporter, a friend, a beast? Everyone I see seems to have a purpose, even Maria's friends. But I… a simple hedgehog, have no purpose at all. I know my purpose for Maria and Gerald, but to the general public… I feel as if I'm nothing. _

_The professor is a scientist dedicated to better society and people's view on technology, Maria is an ill girl who is nice to everyone she knows and brightens their day with her personality. I, myself, have yet to find a substantial purpose that would set me apart from others. I just know there has to be a purpose in my existence or else I wouldn't even be here. …Perhaps a self-examination is called for. _

_Well… I am different. I was created in a lab but mostly to aide Maria in her illness. I have powers… suppressed powers that are very powerful. By now I've gained control over them with success despite the changes I'm going through right now. I have an advance thinking ability so I'm able to catch onto things and learn quicker than the average person. I am also learning more and more about human life and the society I'm living in. It's strange and fickle… but exciting at the same time. The changes I've been going through are improving some of my physical abilities. Strength, hearing, better vision in the dark… I guess those are a few improvements. But what do they add up to? How can I use my talents and abilities for the public and to define what my purpose is for them? _

_I distinctly remember Gerald saying that 'Everyone born has a purpose. There is no such thing as a useless person.' I'm sure he was including me as well so I must have some sort of purpose for the people… intellect, strength, and compassion. Maybe… I can use my special vision of the world to teach others a new way they can view their lives. I can be a hero to those in trouble and use my powers for the good of the people. Then there's my compassion for the innocent people… perhaps I can encourage them whenever they are depressed and instill them with the confidence I gained over the past few months so they can find their own strength to live on and continue their lives. _

_Yes! That's it! I finally found my purpose! A teacher, a hero, and an inspiration. I'm not sure what to call it… but if I tried hard enough… then perhaps I could become the greatest hero to the world! A hero that can inspire everyone abroad no matter where I am. It's only fair that I give back to the world what the world gave to me… even though most of it was obtained through emotional pain and suffering. Then I guess I've finally found it. My purpose. I won't do it for recognition… but to feel… useful to others so I don't fall back into my depression periods. I know Maria and Gerald will be proud of me as well. They've watch me grown over these past months and to see me take control of my life and what I do with it… they'll be left speechless. They'll finally know that I am no longer ashamed of who I am and Gerald… he can die in peace knowing that Maria is in good hands. _

_…As for Maria… she'll love me just as she always did from the very start. As a sister and a friend until her time comes as well._


	13. The Omen

Before the Vision 

Chapter 13: The Omen

It was another beautiful day outside and Maria and Shadow decided to enjoy the peacefulness of the afternoon. Although the day went by in an unusual slow manner, the two didn't seem to care at all to be bothered by the leisurely pace of the sun. They had stretched themselves out onto the grass in the backyard gazing into the cloudy sky. Maria had suggested playing a small game of cloud guessing where they would try and see if the clouds made any shapes. Shadow was quite confused with this concept. He found it very hard to see any definite shapes of any objects in the clouds, but Maria simply told Shadow to relax and use his imagination. 

"My… imagination?" Shadow questioned the girl. 

"Yes, you know when you use your mind to create things that aren't real. It can also be used to see things that do not stand out clearly… like a hidden message or image." Maria explained. 

Even with the explanation Shadow still didn't quite understand the concept of the imagination… but the hedgehog decided to give it a try just like he would with any other new skills. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before opening his eyes again. Suddenly he could see it! A star… or at least a cloud that looked like a star. It was a bit deformed but Shadow was certain that the cloud took on a star shape. 

"Hey… is that a star right there?" Shadow asked Maria pointing to the deformed cloud. 

"Why yes. Looks like you got the hang of it Shadow!" Maria smiled warmly at him. 

Shadow blushed a bit in his cheeks and went back to his cloud gazing. The two spotted many more shapes and objects and even shared a few jokes with each other as well. Soon Maria had nodded herself off to sleep leaving Shadow to his thoughts. 

"_Who knew learning would be such an exhilarating experience._" he thought to himself. "_As soon as we came into this town my life has already turned around completely! This is too good to be true… and yet… it's what I've always wanted. To live a normal life with out people who detest me everyday. I have tons of friends… and fans as well. But all of it… has to be a dream." _

It was hard for Shadow to take in all of the reality that surrounded him… but that's just how his situation turned out ever since his family came into town. It was rare for the hedgehog to actually look forwards to what would happen the next day. Only a few times had made him feel this way. He also found it strange the way he would yearn to be with his teenage friends whenever he was lonely. The only one who had ever given him that feeling was Maria. The human world was shaping up to be something Shadow would have never thought of it to be: an adventurous experience full of life changing decisions. Despite the slow pace of the people around him, it became apparent that life itself is never slow at all. It's fast and furious and could change directions in just a split second. It was this speed that got Shadow's heart pumping and soon became another reason as to why he wanted to live. 

"_Maybe we can take a trip some other far off place…_" Shadow soon thought as he dreamt of traveling to more exotic lands. 

He could probably make more friends and go on more thrilling adventures with Maria… but there was also Maria's painting he had to finish. Sure he had slacked off for the last few weeks but now it was time to get back to work on his painting. Already he was beginning to concoct new and brilliant ideas for his painting. Soon it became clear to the hedgehog what he wanted to paint. It was simple but it would last a lifetime. Suddenly a rumbling noise could be heard in the distance. Shadow noticed some distinct looking clouds coming in from the west. 

"_Must be a storm heading this way_." he thought to himself. 

Gently Shadow shook Maria waking her up. 

"Huh? Is it getting dark already?" the restless girl asked having lost track of time. 

"It will be soon but there's a storm moving in. We better go inside before it starts raining." Shadow replied. 

Yet a shower of rain began to come down upon the two before they could even move a muscle. Maria began to laugh loudly as she and Shadow scrambled to their feet. Covering their heads, the two quickly ran into the back door of the house which lead into the kitchen. They were somewhat soaked and Maria was still laughing leaving Shadow confused as to what was so amusing. Suddenly he was laughing as well but he didn't know why. The two shared a good laugh as the rain hardened outside and then they calmed themselves. 

"I suppose I'll go and change into some dry clothes." Maria said walking towards the kitchen door. "You better go and dry off before you catch a cold." 

Shadow nodded his head and Maria left the kitchen. The hedgehog walked upstairs and into the bathroom to dry himself off. After coming out the storm was heavily pounding onto the housed and all across the town. It wasn't long until night had fallen and outside it was almost pitch black with little lighting coming from the town. Great bolts of lightning lit up the dark sky quickly followed by roaring sounds of thunder; some that even trembled a few objects in the house. Gerald had gone into his personal office located next to his bedroom and Maria remained in her bedroom as the hours became late leaving Shadow alone with nothing better to do. 

After wandering around the house for some time listening to the raging storm outside, the hedgehog decided to stop by Maria's room to see how she was doing. He approached the bedroom door and silently knocked on it. A muffled 'come in' was heard from the other side and Shadow went inside. Maria was seated at her desk working on what looked like a small knitting project of hers. The hedgehog approached her side to get a better look. 

"It's a pair of mittens I'm making for you to wear when it gets cold." Maria said holding up the red mittens she was working on. 

"But I thought we were only staying here for the summer." Shadow replied. 

"Well yes but sometimes grandfather and I may end up leaving here after autumn arrives. It's just depends on our circumstances." Maria handed one of the finished mittens to Shadow. "Try it on. I wasn't sure what size you wore." 

Shadow slipped the mitten onto his hand. It was a snug fit and very comfortable as well. 

"It's… nice." Shadow said examining the mitten. 

"I also made you a scarf as well, although I wasn't sure if you would need some earmuffs to go with everything else." Maria commented holding up a finished scarf. 

"No, this is fine. Who taught you how to sew?" 

"It's called knitting and a neighbor back at the institute taught me when I was young. She said she knew my mother and had learned it from her, so in a way it's as if my mother taught me." 

"Interesting…" 

Shadow continued watching Maria knit for a few more minutes until she grew tired. Maria then set the mitten and needle on her desk and turned off the desktop light. 

"I think it's time for me to go to bed now." Maria said after a long yawn. 

"Goodnight then Maria. Um… can I ask you a question?" Shadow asked nervously. 

"Sure." 

"…Can I… tuck you in?" 

Shadow's face slightly turned red from embarrassment but Maria only smiled. 

"If you want to." she answered climbing into bed. 

Shadow smiled sheepishly and slowly approached Maria's bedside. More thunder and lightning flashed and rumbled from outside as Maria laid back against her pillow. Nervously Shadow pulled the covers up to Maria's neck and then stood there unsure of what to do. 

"Goodnight Shadow. Thanks for tucking me in." Maria said to the blushing hedgehog. 

Maria held out her arms for and hug and arbitrarily Shadow wrapped his arms around her. They parted after a few seconds and Shadow turned off the bedside lamp. But before he left the room, Maria asked him a question. 

"Why did you want to tuck me in?" 

Shadow stopped at the door holding it open. He took in a deep breath and slowly looked over his shoulder. 

"We're family right? Brother and sister? I… just thought it would be appropriate." Shadow answered unsure of himself. 

"That's so sweet of you. Goodnight." 

Maria finally laid down in bed and Shadow left silently closing the door. When the door was shut, the dark hedgehog breathed a sigh of relief and gave a half smile. It was interesting how the smallest of deeds gave Shadow's heart a huge tug leaving him feeling warm and wanted on the inside. He did remember reading a quote once that went along the lines of this: 

_The smallest deeds often make a bigger difference._

Strangely enough it applied very closely to what he had just done. Soon his feeling of loneliness had diminished and Shadow was on his way down the steps into the foyer. The house was now completely dark with Maria and Gerald sound asleep. Flashes of lightning from outside flashed in through the windows briefly sometimes followed immediately by booming thunder. The rain poured down as hard as it could against the old house and Shadow stood silently at the bottom of the steps. He tried to think of things he could do since he rarely slept at night anymore. Slowly he began to pace down the narrow hallway towards the kitchen and dining room. The hedgehog rubbed his ice cold hands together but was well aware of the fact that they would never heat up again. 

Suddenly his thoughts just wandered aimlessly as he turned around the corner and walked towards the green room. Upon entering the plant filled room, the sound of rain was obviously much louder in here than in any other room on the first floor because of the lack of insulation. The windows that served as the room's walls were beaten down upon by the rain. Silhouettes of trees flashed in the night sky with each bolt of lightning but Shadow was not stirred by this frightening scene. Since he couldn't think of something active to pass his time, he chose his passive activity of daydreaming to get through the late hours. He would've started on his painting but was afraid that the noise he caused would wake up Maria and Gerald. Reading also became quite a bore to the hedgehog now that he was in a need for constant activity throughout his days. 

When night fell upon the town, Shadow just found himself wandering the house without direction or at least until he fell asleep on the couch. Yet tonight… he felt a bizarre need to stay awake. It wasn't the rain that kept him awake for he was known to be a heavy sleeper even during the roughest summer showers. It was… something else. A strong yet still and quite urge that kept Shadow from sleep and lead him into the green room. Calmly he paced around the center of the room as the thunder clashed and roared outside. But then he began to look out of the windows as if he was searching for something. The hedgehog's eyes darted from side to side trying to catch some invisible object. Then another clap of thunder sounded causing Shadow to jump from shock. 

Inside his chest his heart began to pound harshly against his ribcage. The hedgehog became aware of someone or something lurking around just outside of the windows. Instinctively his hearing became more acute and he listened closely for any outside sounds besides the pattering rain. His ears twitched back and forth… but nothing out of the ordinary was heard. 

"_Maybe it's just me._" Shadow thought. 

A disturbing chill ran down his spine… something was definitely wrong. 

"_There's something out there… but what?_" 

Shadow had a gift for sensing people whenever they came near him even if it was from around a corner. But whatever it was outside… Shadow couldn't tell whether it was human or not… or even if it was real. His eyes continued to dart around at the windows but the hedgehog remained careful to stay centered within the room. 

"_Come on already! Where are you?!_" his mind shouted. 

An eerie response came in the form of silence. The pattering noise of the rain slowly faded away as well as the wind that accompanied it. The lightning and thunder had ceased as well leaving Shadow with an awkward feeling inside of him. Something terrible was about to happen… but what was it? Would it be an attack from the unknown that waited just outside of the windows? Perhaps it was the people from the institute. They probably followed the family to the summer house and waited silently in the forest surrounding it for the perfect moment to attack. But then it became dreadfully obvious to Shadow. 

An instinctive feeling of warning and panic was quickly building up inside of Shadow, but he made no reaction to it whatsoever. He suddenly knew whatever it was would soon show itself in the darkness… and yet he remained inside of the room just waiting for it. 

… 

ROAR!! An extraordinary wave of thunder exploded into the hedgehog's ears. An unusually bright flash of lightning accompanied it and Shadow found himself lying on the floor staring at what seemed to be his mysterious 'stalker' outside in the rain. A shadow larger than anything Shadow had ever seen stood outside. Its eyes were red and a large set of wings were on the creature's back… it almost seemed familiar to the hedgehog. Shadow was nearly petrified as he laid on his back staring up at the creatures blood red eyes. Then it gave another shattering roar causing Shadow to cover his ears in pain. But this time it seemed to have gone on forever forcing the hedgehog out of the green room and into the narrow hallway where the roaring had finally disappeared. 

Shadow laid against the wall clutching his chest. Slowly he began to connect back with reality and noticed quite a change in the atmosphere. The pouring noise of the rain and the howling wind had suddenly diminished along with the roar. Now there was only the gentle sound of an average rain shower going on outside and the thunder and lightning had moved on. But Shadow was still left frightened from the terrifying visitor and could only ask himself what was going on. Had it been a dream or did his imagination get the best of him? The earthshaking roar was too real to be apart of some dream and the pain he felt was even more evidence that what he experienced was authentic. 

He soon tired himself with his own brainstorm and staggered to his feet. Shadow felt his body shaking uncontrollably from the fear he felt as he swaggered into the living room and fell onto the couch. Finally the hedgehog felt exhausted and tired and easily fell into a deep sleep. He could care less about what had just happened for now he just wanted to get through the rest of the night undisturbed.


	14. His Vision Completed

Before the Vision 

Chapter 14: His Vision Completed

For two weeks Shadow had locked himself up inside the furnished attic at the top of the old house. With all of his art supplies inside with him, he worked for long hours, day in and day out on his portrait for Maria. Since he only had one canvas to work on, the hedgehog was very careful and precise with his portrait's accuracy; from the shapes right down to the shades of colors he used. Maria and Gerald were curious as to what Shadow was up to but respected his wishes of not to be disturbed. 

"Do you think Shadow is changing grandfather?" Maria asked one morning during breakfast. 

"In what way?" Gerald replied before sipping his coffee. 

"His attitude. I don't want to jump to conclusions but Shadow's sudden isolation makes me wonder if he's changing again…" 

"My guess is that he's just busy with a personal project. People often do small projects for their own personal needs and are usually not meant to be seen by others." 

Maria nodded her head agreeing with her grandfather. She could recall a few times in her life where she would do small projects in her room just to relieve some stress or frustration. Perhaps Shadow was doing the same… relieve the pain from his experiences at the institute. It was possible but Maria was not the type who would jump to sudden conclusions. As the two continued to eat their breakfast in silence, Shadow continued to work diligently on his portrait in the attic. 

The attic was perhaps the largest room in the house. The attic had the usual excess junk stored inside of it such as boxes of antique decorations, broken furniture, and other decorative knickknacks. There was also an old couch and a small side table that Shadow used to place his supplies on. The hedgehog had set up his canvas near a window facing the front of the house so he could gaze out into the world during his breaks. He spent most of his time working in the early morning hours and evening hours as well. Shadow often found himself working through an entire night without becoming tired. 

"_I must be changing again_." Shadow thought to himself once while working. 

After two grueling weeks of slow and accurate painting, Shadow was almost finished with his portrait. A brush filled with a grayish black paint touched down on the canvas surface and the hedgehog gently stirred it in to mix in with the surrounding dark colors. Finally it was complete! Shadow's present to Maria was finished in all of its glory. The hedgehog stepped off of the stool he sat on and took a few steps back to get a complete view of his portrait. He emitted a quiet smirk crossing his arms at the amazing work he had completed in just two weeks! A full portrait of himself and Maria on a dark gray background with vivid details, especially in Maria's golden colored hair. The proportions weren't exact but close enough to look like the work of a professional. Shadow surprised himself with the portrait and somehow couldn't take his eyes off of it. He was sure, without a doubt, that Maria and Gerald would love it just as much. 

Setting his supplies off to the side, Shadow decided that it was time to get in touch with the outside world again and left the attic closing the door behind him. Slowly he descended down the dark and narrow staircase and upon emerging out into the hallway, Maria had just reached the top of the stairs from the first floor. 

"Shadow!" she cried out running to her friend. 

The two embraced each other with a strong hug and Shadow felt as if he had returned from a long journey. 

"So you've finally come out of your nest?" Maria asked smiling brightly. 

"Well… I guess you can put it that way…" Shadow's voice drifted off with some embarrassment from Maria's comparison. "Are you going in to town later on today?" 

"Yeah. Carol and I planned on doing some shopping today, although I'm not sure if you would want to tag along with us." 

"That's ok. I'll find something to do. But I do have something to show you and the professor." 

"Oh really? What is it?" 

Shadow glanced back up the dark staircase leading to the attic. 

"I won't say but I'll show it to you two, perhaps tomorrow evening when it's ready." 

Maria smiled in return but then looked down and noticed some paint on Shadow's hands. She looked up at the hedgehog and gave him a sly look. 

"I think I have an idea of what this surprise is…" she said playfully. 

"What!? Well… don't go into the attic ok? I… I made a big mess and I still have some cleaning to do." Shadow replied walking past Maria and down the stairs to the first floor. 

It was pretty obvious to the girl that Shadow was lying about the mess but she decided not to say anything about it. The hedgehog himself knew that his lie was terrible and apparent but was too nervous about the surprise being ruined to even care. 

The day went by as usual with Maria and her friend, Carol, enjoying some hours together shopping while Shadow wandered around town helping out anyone in need. A new day soon fell upon the town and in the summer house, Shadow was preparing his big surprise that he would unveil that evening. The portrait had dried but Shadow had to find a way to sneak it down into the living room without Gerald or Maria noticing. Soon an idea came to the hedgehog that morning. It was simple and harmless and something that the two family members needed since they were on vacation. A nice afternoon stroll through the town. It would give Shadow plenty of time to set up for the surprise while the two were out. 

Early in the afternoon Shadow made the suggestion to Gerald who was in his office. 

"You know that does sound like a good idea Shadow." Gerald said turning in his chair to face Shadow. "It's been a few years since Maria and I visited this town. Perhaps there have been some changes made since our last visit." 

"So you'll go for a walk?" the hedgehog asked anxiously. 

"Of course! You can come along if you like." 

"Uh… no thanks. I think I'll just stay here at the house. You two need the time together." 

Gerald agreed silently and left the office to find Maria. Shadow approached the doorway and smirked watching Gerald disappear down the steps. Everything was going as planned for him. A few minutes later Maria and Gerald were gone from the house and the black hedgehog wasted no time in preparing the living room. Carefully he brought down his portrait from the attic and placed it on the stand that was set up in the living room. Shadow felt some creativity moving around in his mind ad figured to make the surprise into a special presentation with hors d'oeuvres. He wasn't familiar with the kind of appetizers that were offered at fancy parties, but the hedgehog did his best with a few sandwiches and a pitcher full of fruit punch. 

Preparations didn't take too long for Shadow, but Maria and Gerald were gone for quite some time. The sun had slowly made its way across the afternoon sky and was preparing to settle down for the night. Meanwhile, Shadow was busy trying to think of a nice way to greet his family when they came in and how he would present the portrait. The hedgehog scribbled down some ideas on a sheet of paper but none of them 'clicked' as on would say. 

Night came rather quickly and soon after the sun had disappeared, Shadow could hear the laughter of Maria and Gerald approaching the house. He slightly panicked and quickly checked to see if everything was in place in the living room. Outside the house, Maria and her grandfather approached the front door and were greeted by Shadow as the door opened up slowly. 

"We're back!" Maria cheerfully said with a warm smile. 

"Welcome back." Shadow said greeting the two. "I hope you had a nice walk." 

"It was very pleasant to enjoy the sights of the town. We even managed to go outside the town into the fields for a while." Gerald commented walking in with Maria. "Sorry we took so long." 

"That's ok." Shadow closed the front door. "Although I do have a surprise to show you…" 

"A surprise? Where?" Maria asked. 

Silently the hedgehog led his family into the living room where two chairs were set up facing the covered portrait in the center of the room. The snacks and drinks had been set up on the coffee table that sat in front of the chairs. Gerald and Maria took their seats while Shadow nervously stood in front of the portrait. 

"So what do you have to show us?" Gerald inquired the hedgehog. 

It was difficult for Shadow to answer. He was too nervous and excited to say anything about the portrait. He had a small speech prepared but completely forgot about it in all of the excitement he suddenly felt. Shadow twiddled with his thumbs, his face slowly turning red. 

"Just take a deep breath." he heard a soft voice say to him. 

Shadow looked up to see Maria staring at him with her kind eyes. All of the tension suddenly began to fade away and his hands dropped down to his sides. 

"I… well… the weeks I spent up in the attic alone were not in isolation. I was working hard on something for Maria, but I chose to show it to you as well professor." 

Gerald nodded his head in compliance. 

"Ever since I was… 'born' six months ago, you two have taught me so much about life… and why I should live it to the fullest. I never thought that there could be so much kindness outside of the institute. When we came into this town I was a bit reluctant on how the people here would treat me. But now… now I see that some good can be found in the hearts of others. As a token of my appreciation, Maria… Gerald, here is my present to you for accepting me into your family." 

The cover was taken off of the portrait and Maria and Gerald were left speechless at the sight of Shadow's portrait. The young girl was brought to tears and rushed over to her friend throwing her arms around him. Shadow wrapped his arms around Maria patting her on the back as she cried silently out of joy. 

"Shadow… I… don't know what to say…" said Maria a few seconds later. 

"I think your embrace was more than enough." the hedgehog said for her. 

Maria agreed with him wiping the tears from her eyes. She then turned to her grandfather who had also shed a few tears as well. He was so astonished and yet proud of what Shadow, his own creation, had accomplished and learned in such a small amount of time. He was more than just a successful experiment, Shadow was a shining example of the potential everybody has in them. He had been through trials and tribulation in just a matter of a few months but still came out on top shining despite his imperfections. The professor saw no need to speak any words of wisdom for none were needed in such a moment. So the old man stood up, bid Shadow and Maria goodnight, and went off to his room upstairs. 

Maria once again pulled Shadow into a hug laughing this time. She then looked at the portrait again in awe. 

"This is amazing Shadow." she said in a whisper. "What motivated you to make this picture?" 

"You did Maria." Shadow simply answered. "Even though you're ill, you still seem to enjoy life as if you were as healthy as your friends. I don't understand why hardly anyone gives you any presents. You deserve them more than anyone that I know!" 

Maria blushed and took Shadow's hands. She knew that she had a strong spirit but very few people had ever spoken to her about it or even complemented her on it. 

"I don't try to put myself out there just because I'm sick. I just try to live everyday to the fullest and fight through the hard times like any normal person. Actually Shadow… I never saw myself as a sick person at all when I was growing up. I just saw myself as someone who lives differently than other kids." Maria's words were humble but spoken honestly. 

Shadow could relate to Maria to a certain degree. Without a doubt he was different than everyone else around him, but that didn't mean he had to act differently. He just acted normally and was accepted by his peers for being true to himself and not being a poser or egotistical about his abilities. Shadow didn't like to show off much which explains why he was often quiet among his friends and they're ok with it. 

Shadow and Maria stayed in the living room for most of the night talking to each other about various things until Maria grew tired. She finally went off to bed after kissing Shadow goodnight on his forehead and went upstairs to her room. The hedgehog turned off the living room light and fell onto the couch sighing heavily. The unveiling of his portrait had brought the family closer to each other than ever. He even felt a bond forming between he and Maria that some how filled in the void that he had inside of him. It was strange and yet astonishing for Shadow to realize how far he's come ever since his humble beginnings at the institute. He remembered reading his first book in the library and even the first word he had spoken to Maria. The hedgehog felt a feeling of accomplishment inside of him… as if he had achieved the status of a legend. But there was so much more he wanted to see… experience… and learn. There was an entire world outside of the small town and Shadow was determined to see it all… even when Maria and Gerald were gone. 


	15. Rampage

_Warning: This chapter is somewhat extremely gruesome since I got a little carried away towards the end._

Before the Vision

Chapter 15: Rampage

The last few days in the Robotnik summer house were filled with an air of eternal happiness. Rarely did any of the three family members have any problems to complain about for everything seemed to be going well for them. Shadow had finally confessed to Gerald and Maria exactly how he came up with his portrait idea. Maria was truly amazed at how much understanding Shadow could gain from his surroundings. Even Gerald himself was blown away at Shadow's perception of life and the physical world. What was once a simple yet complex experiment had amazingly grew into a caring, brilliant, and intuitive life form that easily blended into society. Gerald certainly did not expect so much from Shadow in such a small amount of time and felt that, as a professor, his own potential of being the greatest scientist was just being tapped into.

Knowledge of Shadow's opinion on the world opened up new conversations between the hedgehog and the professor that were usually lengthy and sometimes argumentative over simple ideas. Maria, as always, busied herself with a book or just sat by idly listening to the two swap thoughtful ideas. Upon family outings, Gerald would often brag to the townspeople over Shadow's portrait. The hedgehog appreciated the exposure of his talent but felt a little embarrassed over everyone's reaction. Some wanted to stop by the house to see the portrait but Gerald, knowing how much Shadow wanted his privacy, gently denied their request.

It was early one morning when Shadow found it difficult to sleep. He tossed and turned on the couch in the living room but decided to give up on sleep and started his day early. It was somewhat dark outside with the eastern sky slowly changing colors from the rising sun. Shadow stepped out onto the veranda of the house, his special sunglasses in hand just incase he was out after the sun had risen. The hedgehog exited out through the gates in front of the house and took the narrow path through the forest into town. There weren't too many people out in the town and many of the street lamps were still on. A few dark figures meandered here and there, some being confused and baffled at the sight of Shadow as he walked down the sidewalk.

"_They've probably never seen me before…_" Shadow assumed after walking by some strangers who gave him odd looks.

He continued on silently ignoring most of the rude and odd comments he received. He had gotten enough of it back at the institute and was honestly sick and tired of it. As the hedgehog made his way down the main street, he turned off into a side street with lesser lighting. A few stores were set up here on the slightly narrow street but Shadow felt the need to explore the town a bit. Secretly, a gang of teenagers watched the hedgehog from across the street. They were aware of Shadow's presence and reputation in the town, but still saw him as just a freak of nature.

"What kind of old man creates a freak like that?" one of the teens asked.

"Who knows. The guy must be weird or just crazy." the leader of the group replied.

Just then a younger member of the gang stepped to the front of the group.

"I heard that the old professor is some kind of mad scientist." the young boy said in a low tone.

Suddenly the others began to inquire the boy about his comment.

"I heard it from my cousin. He lives in a city not too far from here and that's where the old man and the hedgehog came from with some girl named Maria."

"And why does your cousin think the guy is mad?" the leader asked.

"He told me that the hedgehog turned into some kind of monster once in some top secret lab. He's suppose to have all sorts of powers and stuff like that."

The leader looked at Shadow as he continued on down the darkened street. A suspicious look fell on his eyes.

"Maybe your cousin's right." he spoke. "That freak did lift up a car a few weeks back."

The other boys suddenly began to talk to each other over the incident at the auto shop. Some even began to speculate that Shadow was a prototype of a secret army of monsters.

"Hey cool it guys!" the leader order the gang. "If that freak has all of that power then we better get rid of it as a lesson to the sick bastard who created it."

The other boys agreed and silently the gang exited out of the dark alley. They crossed the street silently; some having knives in their hands while others cracked their knuckles. Shadow was casually walking along the sidewalk observing his surroundings when suddenly an uncomfortable feeling trickled up his spine. It was unusual and yet alarming at the same time as if his senses were telling him that there was danger nearby. The gang had quickened their pace slowly approaching the hedgehog. Shadow's heart began to beat faster from the impending doom but he kept his composure. The leader of the group finally spoke out to the hedgehog.

"Hey freak!" the older boy with facial hair shouted.

The hedgehog stopped wincing at the word 'freak'.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you! Turn around!"

Shadow only looked back over his shoulder through his foggy shades, showing no signs of fear.

"I said turn around! You do understand me right you freak?" the leader snapped.

"Yeah…" Shadow finally replied in a dark, bitter tone.

"So you can talk." the leader picked up a rock by his feet. "I suppose you understand what this means too."

Quickly he hurled the rock at Shadow hitting the hedgehog on his head. The short creature winced at the attack clenching his fist.

"What do you want?!" the hedgehog shouted turning towards the gang.

"We want you dead. You see, we heard about where you came from and what you did before you got here. Quite frankly me and my boys feel that something like you can't exist… and the old man was stupid for creating you in the first place." the leader was slowly advancing on Shadow.

The other boys were behind him as well, readying themselves for and attack. The hedgehog only felt more anger growing inside of him for the leader's insult towards Gerald. After spending almost a month in the small town, Shadow had never heard a single word spoken against Gerald. He thought that the family had finally gotten away from the criticism that they left behind in the city, but it all followed them into the small town. And who to hear it from than a bunch of low-life punks.

"What did you say?" Shadow said through his gritted teeth.

"You heard me. The old man is an idiot and deserves to die for being a bastard!" the leader said in an even louder voice.

The anger within Shadow boiled even more as the hedgehog let out a low growl. Unknowingly his fangs extended out of his mouth surprising the gang.

"Hey he's a vampire too!"

"What the hell was that old man thinking?"

"I bet that girl Maria is so weak from him sucking all of her blood." the youngest boy said jokingly.

The other boys began to laugh at the little joke until the young boy was heard screaming for his life. Shadow had tackled him to the ground and was pummeling the boy's face with his fist.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT MARIA!" Shadow roared in his attack.

The other boys quickly crowded around the two grabbing Shadow off of the young boy and throwing him into the street. The young boy had blood all over his face and cried from the pain. The leader and few others glared at the hedgehog ready to attack.

"Looks like the little freak has some fight in him!" the leader shouted angrily.

Rolling onto his hands and knees, Shadow's tolerance for the gang's attitude had finally diminished. He glared at the group of boys in front of him before launching himself at the leader. Shadow had made contact with the older male and punched him repeatedly in the face. The other boys moved in to join the brawl. Numerous hands could be felt attacking the hedgehog as he continued his assault on the leader. Suddenly a knife went across his arm and Shadow directed his attention towards the attacker. The boy was coming at him again with another attack but Shadow jumped onto him and began his furious attack. But it was short lived for the hedgehog was suddenly thrown to the ground where the boys took the advantaged and ganged up on the creature.

Shadow felt the painful beatings of fists and feet all over him. There was even a cut every now and then from the knives the boys wielded. The hedgehog tried whatever he could to protect himself but he still received more damage with every hit. Finally an opening appeared and the hedgehog leapt to his feet and sank his teeth into the leg of one of the boys. The boy cried out in pain and tried to shake off the hedgehog, but Shadow's teeth quickly seeped into his leg. After seconds of chaos and panicking, Shadow finally flung off of the boy's leg ripping off a part of his pant leg as well. Large amounts of blood poured from the gruesome wound and the gang went after Shadow again.

…Yet strangely… Shadow felt an odd sensation within him. From the moment the blood touched his lips to its forced journey down his throat, a sadistic craving overtook Shadow and he looked down at his hands. They trembled uncontrollably and his heart pulse had quickened. The hedgehog's pupils contracted as he suddenly craved for more blood. Meanwhile the boys had stopped their charge keeping their distance from the eccentric hedgehog who was now shaking all over.

"Dude, what's happening to him?" one of the boys asked.

"I don't know." another answered.

They whispered to each other all the while keeping an eye on Shadow. By now he had bent over on his knees holding his head tightly to keep it from shaking.

"_Can't… s-stop it… must… have more…_" his mind hissed heinously.

Just then his head shot up and the creature's red eyes gazed around at the gang. The hunger in his stomach intensified at the sight of the small cuts and gashes that some of the boys were covered in. A small trail of blood trickled out of Shadow's open mouth and a hissing noise soon followed. Immediately the gang turned their back to run but it was too late. Shadow had already grabbed onto one of the boys and took him down. Sharp fangs pierced through the boy's neck and large amounts of blood were taken into Shadow's mouth.

The undying feast continued until the leader knocked Shadow away from the boy with a large piece of wood. The hedgehog's reflexes had picked up and swiftly he rolled to his feet from the attack. Blood was all around his mouth but Shadow didn't seem to notice. All he saw was the gang leader and few loyal members left who were brave enough to take on the menacing hedgehog.

"Come on you freak!!" the leader shouted adjusting his grip on the wood.

The hedgehog launched himself again at the boys hissing loudly. The leader swung the heavy plank of wood and gracefully Shadow bit into it. As the wood was swung around, the end broke off but Shadow landed perfectly on his feet spitting out the chunk in his mouth and charging again at his prey. This time he managed to snag onto a boy's shoulder sinking his teeth through the clothing into the soft skin. The teenage boy screamed and repeatedly stabbed Shadow over and over again in his back with the small knife he had. The pain was intense but Shadow was determined to get his share of food. Finally it was too much to take and the hedgehog released the boy jumping down to the pavement. Unknowingly, some other kids were already advancing upon the hedgehog and they quickly ambushed Shadow as he landed on the ground.

He received more kicks to the face, stomach, and back with bruises accompanying every hit. Then a pathway was made for the leader as he charged towards the group, the plank of wood held in his hand. As Shadow looked up from the beating, the last thing he saw was a broken plank heading towards his face.

WHAM!! The leader had made direct contact with Shadow's face and broken end of the wood shattered from the impact. Chips and splinters of wood went flying everywhere, some planting themselves in Shadow's face. The hedgehog himself was sent tumbling across the gravel filled pavement and stopped on his back.

"Is he dead?" the injured boy with the bloody shoulder asked.

:..I hope so." the leader replied with sweat and blood covering his face.

The impact caused a huge gash to appear across Shadow's face and small splinters of wood were scattered about as well. He was extremely dazed and confused. He couldn't think straight or wasn't even aware of what had just happened. All Shadow knew was that he was on the ground and that his face was in unspeakable pain. Some blood from his gashed eye rolled down onto his lips and it all came back to the hedgehog. The sweet taste, the soothing warmth; it was what he needed to live. Vaguely he could remember when he began to lose his appetite for regular foods and the pain the hunger in his stomach cause. Going to sleep starving and waking up with twice the hunger… it was too much for the hedgehog to take. But he didn't show it. He didn't want Maria and Gerald to know about his dying hunger. Shadow could remember that for a while he had no idea as to what he wanted to eat exactly. So the pain in the bowels of his stomach continued… and eventually they died away.

Now that he found the substance that would sustain his life… he craved for it madly. The hunger in his stomach had returned and it demanded fresh blood. Slowly Shadow's senses began to return and he was now remembering where he was, what had happened, and what he needed.

"_Life…_" his mind whispered. "_Their life… I must have it…_"

Shadow's uninjured eye opened up and he struggled to roll over onto his stomach. The aches and pains of his wounds burned throughout his body, but the hedgehog was persistent to get his meal. He was nearly dying of starvation now and was determined to do anything to satisfy his hunger… even if it meant making a kill or two. Soon his mind began to wipe away all signs of sanity and the creature's wild instincts overtook him. It was decided, unknowingly, that nothing would be able to stop Shadow from quenching his hunger… not even Maria.

The small group of boys had just begun to walk away when they heard a dreaded growling noise of Shadow. Immediately they spun around to see the hedgehog fully standing and slightly slouched over. His uninjured eye looked over his shoulder menacingly glowing a blood red color. Suddenly he felt his body temperature rise from its icy cold numbness to a boiling burning sensation. He couldn't take the pain but Shadow remained rigid as his body began to change shape.

The boys suddenly realized what was happening and quickly left the area running down the street. Shadow had changed into his beast form and roared loudly into the orange sky as the sun began to rise. Shadow's wings flapped releasing a powerful gust of wind and launched him into the air. Shadow flew down the narrow street roaring loudly as he searched for his escaped prey. The booming roars had woken up and caught the attention several residents of the town who were just starting their day. It wasn't long before Shadow found his prey trying to escape into an alley near the main street. The monster immediately descended dropping to the ground in the boys' path and screeched into their ears. They boys dropped to their knees screaming out from the unforgivable pain of Shadow' scream, but it was merely a diversion allowing Shadow to capture his prey.

He scooped up two of the boys into his mighty claws and shoved them into his mouth hungrily. The sickly noise of bones crushing with a squishing noise and muscles and organs inside Shadow's mouth petrified the leader and the last few boys who remained. Blood poured out of Shadow's mouth from his meal and he smiled sinisterly at the remaining gang members who tried to escape. Yet it was too late for them. The enormous monster breathed into deeply and breathed out a wave of untamed fire that disintegrated the boys into ash.

Shadow then tilted his head back and released a triumphant roar spraying out some blood still left in his mouth. But he was still hungry and needed more to satisfy his hunger. The monster wildly ran down the street crushing and knocking over parked cars and scaring the few people who had rushed onto the main street to see what the trouble was. Soon panic expanded across the town and the police force was called in immediately to try and handle the situation.

Back at the summer house, Gerald had awoken to some abrupt knocking on the front door. Quickly he rushed downstairs in his robe and opened up the door to see a group of policemen on his front porch, including the chief.

"Gerald, there's a horrible monster attacking the city!" the chief spoke in an urgent manner. "We found one kid who thinks it may be your hedgehog."

The young gang member was standing near a police officer in the yard looking unhealthily pale and trembled. Just then an explosion came from within the town followed immediately by Shadow's roar.

"Shadow…" Gerald whispered in disbelief. "We must stop him immediately! Just let me get a few things and we'll be on our way."

Forgetting to close the front door, Gerald rushed back upstairs and past Maria who had exited out of her room.

"What's going on grandfather?" the girl asked concerned.

"It's Shadow." Gerald replied rushing past her. "He's transformed into his beast form again!"

Maria gasped in utter shock and then heard another tremendous roar from Shadow.

"What are you going to do?" the girl asked Gerald who had gone into his office.

Immediately the professor came out of his office with a heavy duffle bag. Apparently some large device was inside and was going to be used on Shadow.

"Thankfully while back at the institute, my colleagues I took the precaution of creating this tranquilizer gun that would calm Shadow and return him to his smaller form. It hasn't been tested but I'm sure it should work without fail." Gerald explained rushing down the stairs.

Maria had followed her grandfather to the door where he turned back to her before leaving.

"Go up into the attic and stay there. The last thing I want is you running around out here in this danger."

"But grandfather, maybe I can stop Shadow!"

"No way Maria!" the chief said approaching the two. "He's out of control and he's destroying everything and killing anyone that gets in his way. It's just too dangerous for you."

Another explosion interrupted the conversation but this time a ball of fire could be seen shot up into the air. At that moment Maria realized that Shadow's behavior in his monstrous form was different. He was on a wild rampage causing total destruction and killing many people. She couldn't understand or explain how she knew… but with every roar Shadow released… a familiar emotion could be heard deep within. He wanted something but the girl did not know what it was and knew that she wouldn't be able to help Shadow. With this realization, Maria remained silent while Gerald and the chief left with the other officers. The door closed leaving Maria alone in the empty house.

"Shadow…" she muttered.

The police cars outside in the front yard could be heard driving away with their sirens blaring. Frustrated over her emotions, Maria rushed upstairs into the attic with tears running down her cheeks. As she slammed the door closed behind her, Maria paused at the doorway clenching her fists. Her tears fell to the ground but they were not tears of anger or sadness… but tears of confusion. She couldn't understand what would make Shadow change into his beast form. Almost everyone in the small town respected the hedgehog and had no problems with him at all. Maria thought that Shadow would be able to put his whole past behind him while they were in the small town… but somehow, the past found Shadow bringing back horrid memories of the institution. Slowly the girl approached a small side table and opened up its drawer. Her diary that she had brought with her was in there. Confused and upset over the dire situation, Maria sat on the old couch and began to write in her diary.

The police cars screeched to a halt on the main street where Shadow was wreaking havoc. Gerald, the chief, and a few other officers got out of their cars.

"Set this gun up, and be careful!" Gerald ordered some of the men as he placed down the duffle bag.

"Are you sure this will work?" the chief asked.

"I can't say but the tranquilizer gun does have everything we need to calm Shadow." Gerald replied. "But we have to make each shot count. We could only make a few needles containing the antidote."

"Fine then. Anderson , get over here!"

A middle aged officer with dark hair approached the chief.

"You're the best shooter we have on the force. Do you think you can hit that monster in its weak spot?" the chief asked.

"Sure, but where is it?" Anderson replied.

"If the shots make contact with Shadow's torso then they should take effect immediately from there." Gerald explained.

Anderson complied with his given orders and took up the tranquilizer gun. The chief called forth a few officers to shoot off their guns getting Shadow's attention. Once the plan was underway, multiple gun shots were fired into the air. The professor didn't want Shadow to be harmed in any way. The massive winged creature faced the police squad upon hearing the gunfire. Assuming the gunfire to be a threat, Shadow roared again and charged towards the small group of people. Anderson , with the tranquilizer aimed at Shadow's chest, fired two rounds. Each of them made direct contact slowing Shadow down a bit but he still kept on moving. Realizing the impending doom, the officers and Gerald left the scene.

"How long does it take for those things to take effect?!" the chief asked following the professor.

"It should only take a few seconds before Shadow begins to slow down!" Gerald replied in between breaths.

Surely enough the professor was right and Shadow slowed down to a sluggish run. He began to drag his arms across the ground and breathed out heavily fighting against the drowsy feeling. But Shadow couldn't give up; he refused to on his half-empty stomach. He tore the empty needles out of his stomach and gave a half hearted roar before attempting to pick up the pace again. Gerald was astonished by Shadow's determination to survive the fight. Anderson had already stopped to try and get in a few more shots that would hopefully knock out Shadow. The gun when off three more times. One shot missed while the other two landed on his face and left arm but Shadow simply ripped off the needles and charged for Anderson . Unfortunately he was unable to escape and became another victim with the tranquilizer gun being destroyed. With no hopes left, Gerald and the remaining officers escaped into the forest back to where the summer house was.

Shadow took to the air to cut off his prey at their destination. He flew by the treetops violently shaking the leaves and landed in the dirt driveway just as Gerald and the other officers emerged from the forest. They immediately panic and lost all sense of direction running anywhere they thought would be safe. But Shadow had the advantage over the small group and devoured several of the men in just a few scoops. Finally Gerald was left backed up against the tree in the front yard. He pleaded in a weak voice for Shadow to stop his rampage. But the Shadow he knew was no longer there.

"P-please Shadow… for heaven's sake stop this… this madness…" Gerald begged.

The horrid creature let out a low growl before attacking his victim. Gerald's yell could be heard from the attic atop of the house immediately grabbing Maria's attention. She hurried to the window to see Shadow finishing up the remains of the professor and the young girl gasped covering her mouth. Tears quickly fell from her eyes as heart ripped into two. Shadow, her most trusted friend and 'brother', had just murdered the person who created him and loved him. Her legs began to feel extremely weak and she fell to the floor sobbing. Everything that Shadow had worked so hard to attain fell apart in just a matter of an hour or so. Now Maria was truly alone. Her grandfather was dead and her beloved friend Shadow seemed to have faded away in the presence of the destructive monster outside. Maria fell to the wooden floor crying uncontrollably. What was she to do? There was nothing in the house that would stop Shadow's rampage. Nothing… except herself. It was a bit farfetched for Maria still had the strong that Shadow was gone… but it was the only defense she had left.

A dark, wispy cloud appeared in the corner where the entrance to the attic was. As it grew, the cloud began to take on a large shape similar to that of Shadow the beast. Terrified and still crying, Maria pushed herself against the old couch and could only watch as Shadow appeared in the corner. His heavy weight caused the wooden floor to creak loudly but it was strong enough to support him. Slowly and carefully Shadow walked towards Maria huffing and puffing, his eyes fixed on the girl's face. Remembering her plan, Maria crawled over to Shadow's clawed feet and held onto them.

"Shadow…" her voice could barely be heard. "I don't know what's gotten into you… but you have to stop. You **must** stop! Everyone you love is dying right in front of your eyes and you don't seem to care."

The creature just growled in response.

"I… I remember… when you were upset before. You didn't know what to do so you reacted violently. But now that you're smarter… I hoped… that you would at least know how to handle your anger. But you can't… and it doesn't make any sense!"

The creature growled again stepping back but Maria sat up and continued to stay close to Shadow.

"I remember you said that you were ready to change your life around." Maria's voice grew stronger. "You said that you were willing to do anything to be someone different. But this isn't different Shadow! You're going against what you told me yourself! And I believed you too! But now… here you are… an ugly creature looking down on me after killing so many. What's happening to you Shadow? Why can't you control yourself?!"

The final words echoed in Shadow's mind and the voice seemed familiar to him.

"_Where have I heard it from?_" he asked himself.

The monster remained silent leaving Maria baffled about what it was doing. Shadow was trying to remember where he had hear the voice before. His mind wandered around the answer but nothing could trigger it. By then Maria gave up trying to remind Shadow of who he is. She moved away from the beast already on her knees and dropped to her hands in disgrace. During the process, a sharp piece of wood cut into Maria's hand and immediately she yelped holding onto her wound. Shadow noticed the blood trickling down her wrist and immediately all sanity disappeared as his appetite returned.

The sinister monster snarled startling Maria and stalked towards her, his claws ready to attacks. Maria tried to talk to Shadow again but it was useless. He interrupted her with a loud roar that shook the house and some dust off of the old furniture and antiques. Then with no hesitation Shadow proceeded to attack his only 'sister'. Maria was flung into the wall by a mighty swipe that almost knocker her unconscious. As the young teenager laid on the floor greatly weakened, Shadow approached Maria again and picked her up by her neck. With one claw the monster tortured and tormented the poor girl by cutting her across her torso with one claw. She screamed in agony as the poison burned her. Her body was dropped to the floor again and she laid on her back as Shadow proceeded to tear her open with his claws. It was a delicate yet painful process as Shadow slowly scratched at Maria's body, each mark burning from the deadly poison. As more and more blood poured out onto the floor, Shadow's hunger intensified his attack and soon it became a mere hack and slash with blood, skin, and chunks of internal organs and muscles flying everywhere. Maria's screamed deceased and Shadow began to feast on what was there for the taking. Quickly he scooped up some of the remains of Maria into his mouth and even lapped up some of the blood as well.

Shadow was still not satisfied with his meal and proceeded to sniff the area for anything else he could eat. And then he looked up and saw the portrait he painted. The beast's blood red eyes seemed to have shown some sign of confusion and calmness as he noticed the black and red hedgehog next to the fair skinned girl. The hedgehog in the portrait began to jog Shadow's memory as sanity returned to his mind. Slowly a claw reached out trying to touch the picture and then it hit him. Memories flew back into Shadow's mind and immediately there she was. He could see Maria's loving smile and could hear her ethereal voice softly speaking to him. Although the beast couldn't understand the words clearly, he knew that the voice belonged to Maria.

"Maria…" Shadow said in his distorted voice.

His eyes then wandered back to the black hedgehog and it wasn't long before the beast realized that was himself in the portrait; his calm, intelligent form.

"Shadow…" the beast whispered again.

Suddenly his body began to cool off immediately. Soon the inside of Shadow's body fell back to its ice cold temperature as large amounts of steam were given off and filled the attic. As Shadow changed back into his smaller form, he fell to his knees shivering horribly with his mind suffering a terrible brain freeze.

Finally, it was over. Shadow's rampage had ended and the hedgehog had finally returned. As he regained his senses, he noticed the strong smell of blood in the room and staggered to his feet wobbling a bit. As the steam cleared up in the room, Shadow yelled out in shock as he saw the blood splattered mess his beast form had left behind. He then looked down and noticed that his hands and arms were covered in blood as well and with his heart pounding at an alarming rate, Shadow could only think of one thing to say.

"What have I done..?"


	16. Painful Farewells

Before the Vision

Chapter 16: Painful Farewells

"…What have I done!?" Shadow shouted in an agonizing tone.

He was too afraid to approach the mess near the wall but his feet brought him near the pool of blood. What was even more terrifying to the hedgehog were the skeletal remains of Maria's body. Most of the limbs were broken and still covered in blood and pieces of muscle that Shadow did not devour. Then there was the mangled hand that was still in one piece and coated in red liquid. Shadow knelt down and picked up the hand in the pool of blood and held it before him staring at it madly. There were visions in his eyes. Visions in red of Maria being murdered from the beast's point of view and Shadow was forced to watch every second of it as the memory played back in his mind.

"…no…" the hedgehog's mouth muttered.

The scene intensified as Maria was lifted up by her neck.

"No…"

The monster's claws could be seen ripping her open.

"NO!!"

The innocent girl was ripped to shreds with her blood coating the small area. By the time the vision was over, Shadow had dropped the mutilated hand and tears gushed out of his eyes. His teeth were clenched as he tried to hold back the unbearable pain he felt inside. His heart was beating against his ribcage, his breaths became short… and then it became too much for him. The cries of agony pushed against his chest begging to be freed from the disgusting insides that his prey had gone to. Shadow staggered to his feet holding his arms close to his stomach and still trying to fight the discomfort his actions had caused. But they overcame his body and Shadow stumbled back into the some of the old furniture behind him letting out the first yelp of a long and excruciating crying process.

His hands caught onto some of the furniture trying to hold up the hedgehog as more and more tears rained down his cheeks. Gentle sobbing emanated from his mouth but soon it grew louder and louder by the second until it became a screaming cry of pain. Shadow's frightened voice now mirrored the scream of someone being tortured physically as he dropped to his knees. He had lost complete control over his cringing body and soon rolled onto his back and screamed out the victim that tortured his heart.

"MARIA!!" Shadow screamed crying nonstop.

His blood covered hands found their way to his face and left a smeared trail of blood as they slipped off. Yet the smell only made him more hysterical and he cried until his eyes were ready to burst out of his head.

Several minutes later Shadow's cries had died down but did not cease. He was now on his back howling miserably and speaking incoherent words like a patient of an insane asylum. Feeling some strength and control returning to his body, Shadow got onto his knees and slowly pushed himself off the floor. His feet dragged their way across the wooden floor to a window that faced out into the front yard. Shadow hoped that the peacefulness of nature would get rid of the torment in his mind. But he found much more pain awaiting him when he looked down into the front yard of the summer house. At the base of the tree in the yard, Shadow saw vast amounts of blood smeared all over the trunk of the tree and on the grass as well. There were large claw marks the beast had left behind as well as some skeletal remains and maybe half an internal organ of Prof. Gerald.

Shadow was under attack again by the agonizing pain of guilt and punishment. The scene shattered his heart again and his vocals were raised back up to their screaming level of insanity.

"NO!!" the hedgehog screamed pushing his hands against the window.

They pulled away leaving red, dripping imprints while Shadow went back to his hysterical state of crying on the floor. He was now curled up clutching his hands over his ears. Blood dripped inside but the hedgehog barely noticed. He was too consumed in the guilt of his murderous attacks on his family and the damage he had caused to the town. For it all finally came back to the hedgehog in a red vision; every last second of his wild rampage through the peaceful town. His eyes witnesses the death of every innocent person that stood in his way and the hedgehog's heart was ripped more and more as a result.

"Make it stop!!" he screamed terrified of his visions. "Please stop them!!"

Shadow was aware of what was going on now. The beast torturing him, trying to ruin the good life the hedgehog had established. The horrid creature had done so in the past back at the institute and was now doing it again in Shadow's new home. The hedgehog thought he had put the monster behind him. He thought he had left all of the horrible memories back in the city. But apparently the beast followed Shadow to the small town… it would explain why he showed up weeks ago during the powerful storm that left Shadow nearly sleepless. The beast was making his presence known to Shadow, but the hedgehog was too wrapped up in his new life to even care. Now Shadow paid for his ignorance through the death of his own family.

"I understand…" Shadow wept still curled on the floor. "I understand… just make the pain stop."

He acknowledged the beast's existence and immediately the emotional pain within him died down. Shadow realized now that the beast would always be apart of him for he was there long before the hedgehog came. Shadow recognized the beast as the true mastermind and that he, the lowly hedgehog, was just the outer shell that tamed the beast. There was also something else the hedgehog noticed as well. Inside of him… and the beast, they both were growing stronger. Shadow could feel a strange sensation within him that had nothing to do with his vampire transformation. It was his natural powers, they had grown from the horrifying experience… but so did the beast's powers as well.

Shadow knew that the beast would always overshadow the hedgehog in power. He also knew that the beast wanted to be the dominant one in power meaning that the hedgehog would exist no more. Shadow had to do something to prevent the beast from taking over. But what? What could he do that would be strong enough to stop such a monstrosity?

… "My… powers?"

It was a farfetched idea for the hedgehog to grasp onto but what else did he have? He wasn't sure as to what he was able to do… but anything to stop the beast would be better than doing nothing at all. Shadow stood up and stared out of the blood stained window hoping to get an idea.

"…_Erase… memories_…" his mind whispered.

The black hedgehog's eyes closed and his body relaxed. Suddenly his hands balled up into fists as Shadow began to concentrate on the powers within in.

"_Erase their memories… erase their memories…_" Shadow thought.

His muscles tensed up as a red aura formed around him. He began to tremble from the build up as the aura shone brighter and brighter. Just then, memories of his sweet Maria flowed back into his mind. He was reminded of who this was for, why it had to be done.

"Maria…" Shadow forced out through his gritted teeth.

Soon the burning energy cried to be released and Shadow dropped to his knees yelling as the energy exploded from him. A red, misty wave fanned out in a wide circle passing through the town and the forest. As the red substance was inhaled by the people, their memories of Maria, Shadow, Gerald, the attack, and who lived in the summer house were gone forever. People stopped in their tracks looking around at the damage that had been left behind by the beast but were completely clueless as to how it happened. They were only horrified that so many people were dead and fires burned wildly on the main street of the town. So their only concern was to return things to normalcy.

Shadow remained on his knees, a few more droplets of tears fell onto the floor but the hedgehog remained silent. They were not tears of pain that he felt, but tears of sorrow and remembrance of his beloved sister. When Shadow was reassured that everyone in the town had lost their memories of the attack and his family, Shadow moved on to his next task: how to prevent the beast from taking over. Again the hedgehog remained silent and waited for his mind to whisper the answer to him softly.

"_…a serpent… before it's too late…_"

The message was vague but Shadow complied with his conscious. He searched the room for any type of sharp object. A piece of wood in the floor was broken and Shadow bent over to rip out the rest of the small piece. It came off with some effort and the hedgehog wiped away some of the blood on his arm to prepare for his next task. Taking in a deep breath Shadow raised the broken wood above his head and, in one swipe, made a large slit in his left arm. The hedgehog winced at the pain and held out his arm as the blood seeped out quickly.

"Before his arrival, before his reign," Shadow muttered. "I must die… before it's too late. I must die… before it's… too late…"

The last few words came out brokenly from Shadow's mouth. He was afraid of setting such a curse upon himself… but it was necessary for him to do so. He was doing it for Maria. A large drop of blood dripped to the floor with a tiny splash. Suddenly it turned black and bubbled over like a steaming tar pit. A small, thin creature began to rise out of the tar like substance and struggled out onto the hard floor with its eyes shut. The serpent creature rested for a few seconds before opening its eyes to reveal a fierce green color staring straight into Shadow's eyes. The serpent's eyes flashed its green color and then slithered off towards the corner disappearing in the shadows. Just as Shadow thought he was done, his mind whispered another task to him.

"_…crow… revealing visions…_"

Once again Shadow did not understand the message but went on with his new task. Now it was time to cut his right arm. This time it was performed with quick and swift precision and no hesitation.

"Warning signs, will show the danger," Shadow muttered again. "Direct my path and lead me astray."

A drop of blood fell out of Shadow's arms and turned into a tar-like substance bubbling over once again. This time the creature trying the crawl out of the substance was much larger that the serpent. A small beak could be seen… then one wing… and then the other. Finally with both wings out, the ugly bird flapped them wildly trying to escape from its snare. With enough forceful flapping, the bird was free and flew away from the tar substance perching itself on a piece of old furniture. It's harsh, yellow eyes gazed at Shadow's with an unforgiving look. They flashed yellow before the bird flew off and disappeared into the shadows of the corner.

With his tasks completed, Shadow dropped the broken wood and lowered his eyes towards the floor.

"_What am I doing here?_" he asked himself.

He had no reason to be here anymore. No reason to live; to have ever existed. If Shadow knew that he would be the demise of his family, he would've allowed the humans to kill him back at the institute. The powers he had once thought would be a blessing, had now become a curse unto his life again.

"_I have no purpose here._"

What was his purpose now that he destroyed everything he had worked so hard to achieve? With no family, he would have no love, and with no love, he would have no friends to share it with. His adventurous spirit was gone and the hedgehog could care less about the wonders of the world. He was no longer needed in this world for he was a menace.

"_I must disappear._"

With nothing left to live for, no one left who needed him, and no place else to go, it was the only reasonable conclusion Shadow came to. What good does a stranger have in a world that doesn't know him or want him? What good is it that a monster tears apart everything he tries to have? What good can he possibly bring if he is nothing but a curse to those around him? It made sense to the hedgehog. To disappear and never return in the light where everyone seemed to be. He was sure the darkness would welcome him, for all of those who are cast out from the world of light end up in the world of darkness. It was the only answer.

"_I know no one…_"

Shadow's friends were gone. His enemies were gone as well. His mentor, his sister… everyone that he was connected to was gone from his life forever. He knew no one now. Not a single soul.

"_…yet everyone knows me._"

…Everyone _will_ know him. Everyone _will_ know of Shadow's presence. He hungered for blood and nothing else. So he had to get it from somewhere. The people of the town… that was his source. It was a small town, but there will be more people throughout the years. As the horrible attack escapes into the past, people will idly forget it. That's how humans are. Living in the present, dawning on the past, looking towards the future… always looking towards the future. Besides, it was a small town. Mysterious blood loss wouldn't go unnoticed… and if that was the case, then his existence wouldn't go unnoticed as well. The town may not know that Shadow would be cause of the mysterious happenings, but they would know that someone would be causing them.

Those were his final thoughts. Shadow closed his eyes silently and his body rocked… back and forth, back and forth. It moved in tiny intervals until the pendulum motion continued and Shadow's rocking increased. Finally he rocked forward as far he could and on his way back… the hedgehog began to drift into a sleep. Thus his final rock back became a backwards fall… a fall into nothingness.

The floor was gone…

The room was gone…

All source of light had disappeared…

And Shadow fell…

And fell…

And fell…

All the way to the basement…

But there was no impact…

For the hedgehog was in a deep sleep…

Where he felt nothing and thought of nothing…

His memories gone…

His feelings gone…

Everything gone…

And there he slept…

He slept in what seemed like an eternal sleep until…


	17. And So It Begins

Before the Vision

Chapter 17: And So It Begins…

…50 years later.

Thick layers of dust had collected all over the old useless furniture in the cold basement of the house. Its stone walls and floor provided the room with a constant icy cold air even on the most hottest days of summer. Old pipes could be seen above running across the uncovered ceiling dripping water onto the floor. Against a wall was an old, wooden wine stock holding several bottles of wine that had gone rancid over the years. An unused desk with a broken leg sat adjacent to another wall and right in front of the desk lay Shadow sound asleep.

His tan skin had gone horribly pale and the hedgehog lost a few pounds over the years in his deep sleep. A translucent drop of water formed on a pipe above Shadow and gained more weight. Soon gravity had its way pulling the droplet towards the earth and splashing onto Shadow's eye. He stirred gradually opening his eye up and took in the darkness that surrounded him. The red eye quickly darted back and forth looking all around the dark basement and could depict every little detail that hid in the shadows. He breathed in and could smell the moldy air the rusty pipes had created and scrunched up his nose in disgust.

Shadow was ready to get up and explore the new and strange world he had found himself in… but his muscles wouldn't move. They were weak and stiff from his prolonged slumber. He tried lifting his left arm… but it wouldn't budge. Maybe his right arm… no, nothing from that one either. Shadow knew he could move; Shadow wanted to move… so he tried again with his arms.

He had to force some effort into the movements but the creature's arms finally moved off of the cold floor. Tensed and stiff, Shadow's arm arched themselves and his hands laid on the floor open. Then his upper body was lifted up off of the ground and the hedgehog was able to bring his knees in for support. His eyes now stared at the floor wide open as another drop of water fell onto his head. Slowly, but carefully, Shadow got to his feet and stumbled to his side onto the old desk. It creaked loudly from the support of his weight and the hedgehog's legs almost gave out on him. Taking in a few deep breaths, Shadow pushed himself away from the desk and stood on his own. He began to slide his right foot forward a bit, then his left foot. Then his right again and his left. Right, left, right, left and his pace increased.

Eventually Shadow made his way to the foot of the old wooden stairs and gazed up at the closed door at the top. Curiously, his head tilted before his right foot was lifted up towards the first step. His left foot followed sending the lost creature up the steps. The rusting door handle was turned and the basement door opened up with its hinges crying out an eerie sound. The house was dark and wooden boards covered up the windows. As Shadow moved out into the foyer, he could see into the living room and noticed that some of the furniture was gone while larger pieces, like the couch and armchair, were covered up with dirty white sheets. The doors the game room had been locked leaving the hedgehog to explore the narrow hallway leading to the kitchen.

On his way he peered into the dining room where the table had become dirty and was undecorated. In the kitchen, the small window looking out over the backyard was boarded up engulfing the room in darkness with its useless appliances. Shadow continued on down the hallway looking at the walls which were now bare. No small portraits of Gerald's ancestors were to be found anywhere… but the hedgehog didn't notice. His hands eventually pushed open the dust covered glass doors at the end of the hallway and Shadow found himself in what was once the greenroom. The glass windows that served as wall to the room were completely boarded up but in a messy manner. All of the plants had been removed making it seem much larger than it was years ago. With nothing to observe in this room, Shadow left and went back out into the foyer.

This time he journeyed up the wide staircase and stood in the second floor hallway. Maria's bedroom door was cracked open but had nothing of importance in it besides an empty dresser and an unused bed. So the hedgehog looked towards the narrow and dark staircase that led to the attic. But as he neared it, a strange and frightening voice whispered to him harshly accompanied by a bitter breeze across his fur. Shadow's ears folded back fearing what was near the eerie staircase and he walked to his left towards an open door at the end of the hallway. It was Prof. Gerald's office and from the damage marks around the doorknob, someone had broken in. But whoever broke into the office had done so some time ago for nothing seemed to be missing.

Shadow explored the small office looking through the cabinets, opening up drawers, and looking into the closet as well. Upon opening up a drawer where its lock had been broken off, Shadow found a large eyeglasses case inside of it. The hedgehog removed the case and opened it up to find an extra pair of shades for Shadow that Gerald must have held onto. But not knowing this, the hedgehog placed the shades on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He was frightened by his reflection but relaxed after realizing that it was himself. The shades were a perfect fit for the hedgehog although he had no idea as to what good they were for, but he kept them on anyways.

After finishing his exploration of Gerald's office, Shadow left the room and was back in the foyer on the first floor. He was pleased with the house and its size. Although it was dirty and almost falling apart, Shadow felt… comfortable. He was ice cold, starving, and yet… cozy in his quiet domain. But what laid outside the front door that stood before the hedgehog? What was out there that hooted silently and chirped a small and sorrowful tune? The hedgehog could only assume that whatever was on the other side of the large door was apart of his domain as well. Boldly he stepped up to the front door, turned the doorknob, and swung the door wide open.

…

A breeze blew into the house as Shadow stood staring out into the new nightly world that would become his territory. The tree in the front of the house had died over the years and struggled to keep itself rooted even though it stood at a slanted angle. The grass all around the house had died as well giving Shadow's new domain a bleak look. The front gates that once stood strong to hold out intruders were gone leaving only the brick pillars and the remaining bar fence that ran along the front side of the house. As the hedgehog stepped out onto the veranda, he noticed dark puffs of clouds floating by in the sky. The bright full moon was obscured in the mess of clouds and stars could barely peek through and show off their shining colors.

The cold cutting autumn air was welcomed by the hedgehog as he stepped down onto the dead grass. The moon shone its desolate rays onto the house and Shadow observed the lifeless forest that surrounded his home. It was a world that he knew he would enjoy for it accepted him gracefully without a single word. The house would provide him with everything he would need. Shelter, warmth, emotional comfort… but what about food? Shadow felt his stomach growl… and he acquired a distinct craving for and odd meal.

Suddenly the hedgehog's ears shot up and he sensed a strong force pulling him towards the forest ahead. He didn't know what lay beyond the dark trees ahead of him… but whatever it was would satisfy his hunger. Unknowingly, Shadow's fangs crawled out of his mouth and the hedgehog shot off down the dirt driveway and disappeared into the bushes.

The End

_That's it for Before the Vision. Keep an eye out for my next series, Phantom Girls, coming soon to Fanfiction.net._


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